White Snake Sage
by AlucardY17
Summary: Naruto has been trained by the greatest of the summons for years. He is the apex predator. He is the Sage above all Sages. Slit eyes watch as his enemies fall before him. The Great White Snake Sage. The one to become a Dragon! Watch him as he brings honor back to the snakes and crushes his enemies with his powers. Naruto/Hinata pairing. Warning Godlike Naruto.
1. Chapter 1

**Naruto is the property of Misashi Kishimoto. I own nothing.**

**Prologue**

Lightning crackled across the darkened sky. Rain pummeled the ground into submission with a relentless rage.

Two young men could be seen standing facing each other.

One wore a dark blue battle kimono. Over the kimono he wore a set of dark blue armor that were in the form of connected plates. On the back of the armor was a red and white Uchiwa symbol. The crest of the Uchiha _Ichizoku _(Uchiha Clan) of _**Konohagakure no Sato**_(Village Hidden in Tree Leaves). The young man's skin was slightly pale.

He had black hair that was spiked in the back. His eyes burned a crimson shade with the signature _**Kekkei Genkai **_(Bloodline Limit) of the Uchiha.

This man was Uchiha Sasuke.

Standing on a slight rise above the Sasuke was a young man with vivid red hair.

He stood only a few inches taller than Sasuke. The man wore black pants and a dark blue shirt.

Around his waist he wore a dark purple rope belt tied in a bow at the back.

The young man had crystal blue eyes. The thing about his eyes however was that they were slit like that of a cat or a _snake_ with purple markings stretching around the eyes.

His hair was also spiked, but more so than the young Uchiha. It reached down to the back of his neck.

On the back of his kimono was a red swirl pattern. The symbol of the famed and feared Uzumaki _Ichizoku _(Uzumaki clan).

This man was none other than the world renowned and feared _ShiroHebi no Sairai _(Second Coming of the White Snake).

This was the newest and arguably the most powerful _Shinobi no Kami _(God of Shinobi) Uzumaki Naruto, the Nidaime Hebi Sannin.

Said Hebi summoner drew the katana that had been sheathed at his side.

Sasuke immediately went on guard as he knew just what the powerful Uzumaki could do with that sword. Bringing out his own chokuto for a defense the Uchiha noted that relaxed stance that Naruto was still in.

'_Is he not going to take me seriously? Surely he can't think that he outclasses me that badly to not even try!' _Sasuke raged to himself.

If he were honest with himself, Sasuke would admit that he stood no chance against the Uzumaki. The man could produce far too much power when he wanted.

It didn't help that somehow the Uzumaki had inherited the Rikudo Sennin's 'body' as the Shodaime Hokage Senju Hashirama had.

Meaning the Uzumaki possessed the powerful _**Mokuton **_(Wood Release) Kekkei Genkai.

Suddenly an enormous tree root lunged at the Uchiha causing said Uchiha to jump to avoid the massive plant life.

With two hand seals the Uchiha let loose a giant conflageration of flames that were met by yet another set of fully grown trees that eclisped the size of the mountain peaks the fighters were originally standing on.

In a blur Sasuke formed three more hand seals and then bit his left thumb.

"_**Kuchiyose no Jutsu: Taka**_!" In a puff of white smoke a pair of large wings sprouted forth beating against the wind.

A hawk that was easily 6 meters from wingtip to wingtip cawed in battle lust. On the hawks back was Sasuke with his Sharingan spinning.

'_He is still toying with me. Well he is going to regret that decision...'_ Sasuke's thoughts were interrupted when another massive poof of smoke arose from below.

As if sensing the deadly intention the Hawk quickly rose into the air and barely dodged the set of glistening fangs of a collasal white snake.

Said snake was over 200 meters long. On it''s head stood Naruto with his slit eyes trained on Sasuke.

"This is the end of your betrayal Uchiha Sasuke, so come to your end as the Hawk is devoured by the _ShiroRyu _(White Dragon)." Naruto said with a hint of bloodlust entering his eyes.

The fight for survival was about to truly begin.

**10 Years Prior**

**A Snake Cometh**

**Konohagakure no Sato **(Hidden Village of Tree Leaves) had always been hailed as the most powerful of the **Shinobi Godaikoku **(The Five Great Shinobi Countries).

With its exceptional shinobi that stood above others, Konoha stood with no equal.

It was about to produce another one that would help a **Kuchiyose Ichizoku **(Summoning Clan)return to prominence in the Shinobi World.

In this story we find one young Uzumaki Naruto of the late** Uzumaki Ichizoku **(Uzumaki Clan) training himself in **Shurikenjutsu **(Shuriken Technique) at an abandoned training field.

Said Uzumaki was five years old and already the boy was proving himself a genius. He was interested in how everything worked whether it be a Jutsu or just the very concepts of chakra.

He stood at the height of 1.2 meters and had the customary red hair of the Uzumaki clan. His eyes were blue while his pupils were slit like a cat or snake. A light purple marking branched off from both of his eyes enhancing his slit pupils.

On his cheeks were six whisker-like birthmarks that denoted his mother's former status as the Jinchuriki of the **Kyubi no Yoko **(Nine Tailed Fox Demon).

Said demon was now sealed inside young Naruto.

Naruto wore a dark grey and blue outfit that had mesh under armor with medical tape wrapped around his shins and forearms.

A black rope belt was wrapped around his waist and held a bokken in the form of a chokuto. On Naruto's back was the spiral red symbol for the Uzumaki clan.

'_I wish I could leave this village full of hatred. If I can become as powerful as all those legends that everyone love so much maybe I can finally be free of this place or at least make life better for myself.' _Young Naruto thought as he used his growing skill to use Kunai to hit all of the targets in the area.

Noticing that he had yet to hit the target in his blind spot Naruto jumped into the air and used one kunai to hit another to hit the target directly as he had seen a kid from the Uchiha clan use. (1)

Of course it had taken him an entire week before he could actually perform that technique.

While young Naruto had never been physically attacked by the villager's he had been the target of their hatred.

What's more is that he could _sense_ their hatred somehow. All of their dark emotions were like a beacon to Naruto and it was driving him crazy.

He could never play with the children of his own age as each time he tried the parents would come and take them away before glaring at Naruto with anger and hatred.

It was getting on his nerves!

Why did he have to suffer such hatred from the village. He hadn't done anything to anyone. If only the Uzumaki clan hadn't been all but destroyed during the ending stages of the **Dainiji Ninkai Taisen **(Second Shinobi War) than he would have a family.

If the Kyubi hadn't attacked maybe his parents wouldn't have died.

If only young Naruto knew that he was the Jinchuriki for the Kyubi and that his sensing ability also came from the Kyubi.

While young Naruto was a genius, he did not yet know that his father was none other than Namikaze Minato.

He knew his mother was Uzumaki Kushina due to searching the Konohagakure naturalization records for all recorded Uzumaki that had come to Konoha since its founding.

With only Uzumaki Mito and Uzumaki Kushina being on that list it wasn't hard for Naruto to figure out which one was his mother.

Uzumaki Mito was far too old and was the wife of the **Shodaime Hokage** (First Fire Shadow) Senju Hashirama.

That only left the **Akai Chishio no Habanero **(Red Hot-Blooded Habenero) Uzumaki Kushina as his mother.

After studying her picture and noticing the small features he inherited for her including the Uzumaki red hair, Naruto had found his mother.

He found anything and everything related to her and found that she had her own unique form of **Ninjutsu** (Ninja Technique) and very powerful chakra that allowed her to form **Chakra Chains **to erect barriers and other techniques.

He had also read how she had been a prodigy of the blade and **Fuinjutsu **(Sealing Technique) which the Uzumaki clan had been famous for.

With that motivating him to make his mother and clan proud of him Naruto had begun training in all areas of Shinobi combat from Fuinjutsu to Kenjutsu.

As young Naruto switched from Shurikenjutsu to **Kenjutsu** (Sword Technique) he failed to notice that the bushes 12 meters to his right were slightly parted.

Looking at the young Jinchuriki training was none other than a 4.5 meter long white **Hebi **(Snake) from **Ryuchidou** (Dragon Ground Cave).

The Hebi had been sent by both Manda, the boss summons of the snake clan, and the **Hakuja Sennin **(White Snake Sage) to find a new summoner truly worthy of fighting for.

Their current lead summoner, **Densetsu no Sannin Orochimaru** (Orochimaru of the Legendary Three Ninja), was becoming far too callous as a summoner.

It was guaranteed death for just about any snake below Manda's level to die in whatever fight the Sannin brought them into and the snakes had finally had enough.

The fact that Orochimaru was bringing disrespect to the snake name also contributed to the resentment of the snake clan.

Sure the snakes were very cunning and predatory but they would not steep so low as to kill their own comrades.

And while the snakes were all for the few experiments that actually improved upon the talent and ability of their summoner and themselves, they only wanted the experiments that increased their survival and their ability to grow as a species.

Instead Orochimaru was using experiments that killed them by the dozens and did little if any improvements upon the snakes at all.

They would have killed the Sannin by now if it wasn't for the fact that the shinobi had become too powerful.

The snake watched as Naruto practiced his own free form Kenjutsu.

It noted the small holes left in the boy's stances and then saw that the boy would also move to correct those same mistakes in an instant.

The snake also took note of the boy's potent chakra and the massive amount of chakra the boy had especially for his age.

It could tell that this boy would be the one to bring the **Kyodaija **(Giant Snakes) and the snake clan as a whole back to prominence in the Shinobi World.

The boy had shown himself resourceful as the snake had watched the boy for an entire week as he pranked a few of the nastier villager's with pranks that everyone knew he set up but with his cunningness the boy got off scot free of any blame or punishment.

The fact that the prank had involved a dozen or so regular venomous snakes only helped endear Naruto to the observing snake.

Quickly using the **Gyaku Kuchiyose no Jutsu **(Reverse Summoning Technique) to teleport back to Ryuchidou and inform Manda and the White Snake Sage about his findings.

_**Ryuchidou **_

**"Manda-sama I have found the one that can bring us back into prominence as you ordered me to." **The young white snake said slithering up to his two leaders.

"**This is excellent, where will we find this person and how mature are they? The snakes need someone powerful to be the new summoner as well as to kill that fool Orochimaru." **The Colossal purple snake said as he thought of bringing fear and respect back to the clan.

"**It is a boy of what I gather, from the Uzumaki clan in Konohagakure no Sato. If what else I learned was true the boy may also be the Jinchuriki for the Kyubi." **The little snake answered.

"**Hmm. We haavve never had a summoner from the Uzumaki clan but tales of their prowess have reached us even here. And a Jinchuriki to boot. Yes this boy could be what we are looking for. I want you to head back to Konohagakure and meet with the boy. If you can, bring him here, but make sure no one notices you." **With that the boss summons slithered deeper into the caves.

The little snake looked at the White Snake Sage and asked, "**Will he be the one milord to truly bring us respect?**"

The Sage's eyes took on a milky look for a moment before returning to normal.

"**Thatt boy will do more than bring us respect. He will show theee world why the snake is truly a Dragon!" **That said the little snake summoned itself back to Konoha.

**Konohagakure no Sato an hour later**

Naruto was still at the training ground practicing his techniques. He had already gone through Shurikenjutsu, Kenjutsu, Taijutsu, and Fuinjutsu.

He was now practicing his Ninjutsu or more specifically the Academy three Jutsu.

He was able to do the **Kawarimi no Jutsu **(Body Replacement Technique) and the **Henge no Jutsu **(Transformation Technique) quite easily and took to using both constantly to fully master them.

However his work on the **Bushin no Jutsu **(Clone Technique) was a failure.

As he struggled with the technique a small hissing like voice caught his attention.

"**You are using too much chakkkraa young one. This technique requires as little chakra as possible." **

Looking around in surprise the young Uzumaki saw a large white snake slithering towards him.

Now normally a young child would flee from a snake of any size but Naruto was no normal child.

He knew of summon creatures and their significance. He also knew that snakes were the signature summon of one Orochimaru.

One would ask why he was not freaking out with this knowledge.

Well if Orochimaru was after him there was nothing he could really do about it so might as well see what the snake wanted.

"You say I am using too much chakra? But I'm using as little as I possibly can and still be trying to perform the technique. Is there a way around this?" Naruto asked the large snake as it came to a stop a meter away from the wary Jinchuriki.

"**I would suggest using a different Bushin technique that requires more chakra." **The snake answered as he watched Naruto's face show no emotion.

Naruto for his part could not feel any of the negative feelings that he could from the villager's so he relaxed his guard only slightly.

"I don't know any other Clone technique and no one else wants to teach me anything. I have to self-teach myself and watch other shinobi as they practice to get any progress in my own abilities done." Naruto spoke respectfully although the frustration could be heard clearly in his voice.

"**What if I said that I knew someone who was more than willing to train you in Ninjutsu and could eaasliy help you become a powerful shinobi?" **

"I want nothing to do with Orochimaru. I know that he summons snakes and the fact that you are able to speak to me means you are a summoned snake." Naruto replied with no hesitation.

"**Orochimaru is not whom I was speaking of. Although I am happy to see that you truly are gifted and intelligent to have such knowledge. The one I speaak of is the very Hebi clan training you. We want Orochimaru gone due to the way he treats us and want someone more powerful to take his place."**

The snake's answer caught Naruto off guard and said Jinchuriki actually stopped and thought about the offer.

The snakes were well known as being amongst the most powerful of summoning's with the Toads, Slugs, Salamanders and a few other notable summoning's rivaling it.

"But how would you train me? Although the village hates me the Hokage seems to keep an eye on me more so than anyone else. There is no way he would allow me to be trained by the snakes." Naruto replied.

"**Do not fear young one, the snakes have many ways in which we can train you unnoticed. So will you accept my offer? If so you will have to take our Kuchiyose ****Ketsuin**** (Summoning Contract Tattoo) back at Ryuchidou."**

As Naruto thought over all of the possibilities and consequences he made his decision.

A decision that would come to shake the world in the future.

"I accept the Hebi Ichizoku's offer." Naruto answered.

Giving a snake like smile the white snake slithered up Naruto's body and with that both disappeared in a puff of summoning smoke.

_**Ryuchidou **_

"**Manda-sama I have brought the one you asked for." **The red hebi said as he and the red head appeared before the colossal purple body of Manda.

"**Good work young one. Leave us for now I wish to speak to the boy alone for a moment." **The boss summon replied uncoiling his great length.

He was truly a massive sight for the young Naruto.

'_This snake is beyond colossal. He could eat me with barely any action on his part. Hell he could eat the Hokage Mansion if he wanted.' _The young red head thought to himself as he began to sweat.

Only now did he realize that the stories of the Sannin battles during the Dainiji Ninkai Taisen were not embellished whenever someone would mention a **Gama **(Toad), **Hebi **(Snake), and **Namekuji **(Slug) that were the size of the Hokage Mountain and could each destroy an entire village by themselves.

As Manda looked down at the new would be summoner for his clan he noted the particularly dense, powerful, and almost erratic chakra coming from the boy.

This boy definately had the chakra requirements to become the new summoner. Orochimaru himself didn't gain chakra this powerful until after his reached his prime.

And where Orochimaru's chakra was vile and slimy; the boy's was warm and inviting.

Even if it was unpredictable.

"**Young Uzumaki by now Nagi has told you that we of the snake clan want you to be our new summoner. He might not have told you what this entails. To be a member of our clan means you represent us as a whole and to that length you must be cultured, cunning, intelligent, and above all loyal to the clan. From what Nagi has told me you embody these traits." **The collasal snake spoke as he slithered around the young Uzumaki.

Flicking his tongue out Manda sented no fear coming from the boy even though he was being stared down by the largest snake on the planet.

Yes this boy would go very far!

"I am honored that the Hebi Ichizoku wants me to represent their clan and make me one of them and if it pleases you I would indeed love to become your summoner and a part of your clan." Naruto replied respectfully.

Although Naruto knew he was from the Uzumaki Clan he still always wanted to be a part of a greater family that actually was there for him.

Of course it was no fault of the Uzumaki Clan that they were wiped out but still even one as intelligent as Naruto was not above placing misplaced anger and blame.

It was a part of being human.

Manda wrapped himself around Naruto and brought his great head towards the boy giving him a piercing gaze with his slit pupils.

The boy had all of the markings of a snake just as Orochimaru before him and yet there was an essence about the boy that Orochimaru lacked.

Only time would tell just how powerful Naruto would be.

"**You are hereby accepted into the Hebi Ichizoku from here until the day you leave this world you are one of us. Wear our contract proudly and bring us respect." **With that said Manda moved back as a black snake slithered toward Naruto and with no warning sank its fangs into the boy's left arm.

The black poison spread out across Naruto's skin as pain unlike any he ever knew burned through his veins. Time slowed down as the poison began forming a tribal pattern tattoo.(2)

**Alright I know some of you guys are like what are you doing with a new story? Well I'm actually in the process of changing my writing style and so I feel that I need to redo most of my current stories. In fact this story is the first story with my newer style of writing. I'm going for the show and not tell type of effect and would greatly appreciate feed back. I'm also currently working on multiple chapters for the new version of Darth Thanatos and hopefully will have chapter one and maybe two posted next week. Now I'm not happy with the current Naruto Manga with all of the Uchiha power ups so I decided to make a Naruto as the Snake Sage story. Now I was inspired to write this story by Through a Snakes Eyes by Ginja Ninja and Sealed Legacy by Psycho G. The pairing is Naruto/Hinata. Most won't like that but it's my story and I really like that pairing. By the way I really need a beta because I'm a senior in college with not a lot of time to check for mistakes so if anyone is willing to help just pm me and it will be greatly appreciated. **

**1. Itachi's technique with the Kunai.**

**2. Orochimaru's Summoning Contract Tattoo.**


	2. Training

**So in this chapter it is going to seem like I may have taken something from Kishimoto with the Rikudo but I swear I had that scene written almost a year ago. I just hadn't released it until now because I needed more research and time. Yes Naruto will still be the incarnation of Ashura but also much more while Sasuke will be the incarnation of Indra. So on to the chapter hope you all enjoy.**

**One Year Later**

A now six year old Naruto could be found deep in the forest surrounding Konohagakure no sato surrounded by six bandits.

The Uzumaki wore an off-grey shirt with mesh under armor barely visible. Black pants were tapered off at his ankles by tape. Black shinobi sandals encased his feet.

A dark purple rope belt was tied around his waist and on his back was the famous red Uzumaki swirl. A kodachi was sheathed at his waist.

Each bandit brandished a sword and if one were to look into their eyes would note that they had snake-like slit pupils.

'_I guess it can't be avoided I'll have to kill them all.' _The Hebi summoner thought to himself as he drew his kodachi blade.

In the blink of an eye each of the bandits surged forward at a decent civilian speed and began swinging their swords in a coordinated pattern to lessen the chances of the red head's survival.

Naruto for his part thought the bandits were a bit slow but he wouldn't complain with each of them coming at him with the intent to kill.

Dodging a two handed swing from one of the burlier bandits Naruto swung his kodachi up in an arc disemboweling said bandit.

The other five bandits doubled their efforts to kill the young red head. Said red head became a blur as he sheathed his blade and in a swift motion and re-drew his blade across each bandits throat before they could react.

All five bodies collapsed to the ground and small black snakes wriggled out of each of the gaping wounds.

Said snakes slithered towards Naruto and slithered up his body until they reach his arms and disappeared under his sleeves.

Killing other human beings didn't even make Naruto flinch.

Luckily in their quest to make Naruto the most powerful of shinobi the snakes had decided that he should first raise a pet rabbit for a period of months and then they had him kill the rabbit with no remorse.

While it would come off as cruel it did help in smothering the guilty conscious of murder and just what it entailed in being a shinobi. In fact these were not the first bandits that Naruto was forced to kill either.

It never truly got easier but Naruto only thought of the good that came of getting rid of bandits and instead of immersing himself in the bloodlust he actively curbed it.

'_I still find it amazing that the Hebi-clan can possess the bodies of anyone they wish with preparation. Such a useful Jutsu it is. Although my __**Iaido**__ (Way of Iai) needs more improvement if I'm to become a kenjutsu master.' _Naruto thought to himself as he walked along the outskirts of Konohagakure.

After walking a short distance the young Uzumaki began feeling a deep sinister feeling.

As if the Shinigami himself were pressing down on him.

If only he knew that he wasn't too far from the truth.

"What is this place? It has an air of untamable malice in the air." Naruto said as a three meter long white python slithered up behind him.

"**Naruto-sama, I don't like this place. It tastesss of death, and darkness. We should head back to the village or go to Ryuchidou to train more with Manda-sama." **The snake whispered as the Jinchuriki walked towards a decrepit looking temple.

Said temple had a massive Uzumaki clan symbol on the front.

"This is something from my clan Aido-san, maybe I can find out more about my clan from this place." Naruto said as he stared at the large Uzumaki swirl on the temple.

He had found the **Uzumaki Ichizoku no Nomendo **(Uzuamki Clan Mask Storage Temple).

Walking up the falling stairs Naruto ducked his head and came into an open area.

In front of him was a stage of sorts with black flames dancing from the floor. On the wall behind the flames under three more Uzumaki swirls were dozens of masks.

Looking at each mask made Naruto's feeling of untamable malice return full force.

Aido slithered up Naruto's back coming to stop with his face beside the red head's own face.

"**Naruto-sama now that you have seen what is here can we please leave? Something here is more sinister than even Orochimaru-san."** Aido wrapped his thick body around Naruto's in an effort to ward off the evil he felt permeating the air.

"This place means something to me Aido. I have no clue as to why but I feel drawn to this place. Maybe it's the fact that it belonged to my clan or maybe it is something else but whatever it is I must find out why I am drawn here."

Walking forward Naruto did not notice the intricate **Fuin **(Seal) (1) that had hundreds of markings surrounding the famous swirl of the Uzumaki.

As he stepped onto it, the Fuin began glowing with power as Naruto's chakra was suddenly being sucked out of him.

"What's happening? Aido-san can you generate any chakra?"

Naruto was beginning to panic as his chakra plummeted at an extremely fast rate.

"**Naruto-sama my chakra is also being siphoned off, I don't know if I will be able to stay in this realm for too much longer." **

The python was convulsing as its own chakra was also being eaten away by the Fuin.

A low rumbling could be heard as the masks on the back wall were thrown in a sharp relief making their faces look even more sinister than before.

A secret door appeared on the stage as the black flames moved in an erratic fashion and then moved to the side.

Naruto could feel an immense chakra coming from the passageway.

As suddenly as it all started the Fuin stopped its glowing and began restoring the chakra of the snake summoner now satisfied that it had been discovered by an Uzumaki and not an intruder.

'_Maybe I should have listened to Aido after all. I got him hurt for no other reason than my curiosity. That is not how a summoner of the Hebi-clan should act or treat his fellow family.' _Naruto thought to himself as his guilt could be felt in the air.

"**Naruto-sama are you alright? I feel my chakra returning and that evil chakra from before is gone.**" The young python said as he brought his face up to his summoner.

"Ariogatou Aido-san, I should have headed back when you asked me earlier instead I let my curiosity get the better of me. For that I can never forgive myself. I understand if you wish to head back to Ryuchido without me." Naruto said guiltily.

He really did not want to hurt any of the snakes after all they had done for him in the past year. Giving him a family and reason to truly become strong.  
>"<strong>I won't leave you Naruto-sama. You a by far my most favorite summoner and I did not get hurt it would take more than a little chakra drain to defeat me. Now how about we see where this passage leads and what secrets we can find. Froomm the lookksss of thiss place no one has been here for decadesss.<strong>" The snake responded.

He had always been the most loyal to Naruto of all the snakes. The boy had helped him out whenever any of the other bigger snakes would take a joke too far or whenever a much larger toad would make it from **Myobokuzan **(Exquisite Tree Mountain) all the way to Ryuchido and try to kill Aido because he was unfortunately always around when it happened.(2)

"Alright Aido-san let's see what my clan hid away here."

Making his way down the passage Naruto kept his right hand on Aido's large scaly head and his other on his kodachi ready for anything that might attack him.

As he walked down the passage the deathly aura from before returned but not as unbearable as before.

Coming to a giant stone pedestal covered in the Uzumaki symbol Naruto raised his hand as to touch it but as his hand neared it some of his chakra was sucked into the pedestal.

As that happened a hidden compartment opened up and out of it a giant scroll covered yet again in the Uzumaki symbol rose from its depths.

After waiting for the scroll to completely rise from the stone, Naruto cautiously grabbed the giant scroll.

This was a bit hard to do on his own as the scroll was easily as tall as he was and just as thick.

"Aido-san would you mind wrapping around the scroll for me." He asked politely.

Said snake made its way from the red head's shoulder and slithered up his outstretched arm and wrapped around the scroll and with a mighty heave picked up the scroll using his mighty coils.

As the scroll was lifted a hidden mechanism was activated and the whole passage began to move downwards.

'_My clan must have been really paranoid with this many traps here. I feel as if they are trying to kill me.' _The jinchuriki thought as he grabbed the scroll from Aido's coils.

When the passage finally stopped moving Naruto found himself in a hidden shrine, covered in a multitude of Fuins that he could not understand, with a platform covered in Megatama with a rippling swirl design.

Upon the platform was a tablet with a dark script written upon it.

Walking up to the tablet Naruto looked on as a small opening appeared on the side with a small scroll sticking out.

Placing the large scroll down Naruto lifted the smaller scroll and began to read its contents.

_**For the one who finds this crypt of the one and true 'Shinobi no Kami' only true power awaits you. A descendent of this legendary being you must be to gain his eyes, his body and his one true spirit. The Uzumaki clan hold within them the 'spirit' of the Rikudo Sennin. The Uchiha holds his 'eyes'. And the Senju hold his 'body'. For generations the Uzumaki clan has guarded the true secrets to the Rikudo's power. The Uchiha have the Naka Shrine that was abandoned by the Uzumaki centuries ago. They claim only their Sharingan can read it but that is not true. Any Uzumaki can read it as could a Senju that has inherited the 'body' of the Rikudo. The Uchiha only know the ways to advance their eyes but not the true power that made the Rikudo such a powerful being. Locked away in this crypt is the actual body of the Rikudo Sennin as he sealed his physical body away centuries ago. His revolutionary prowess in Fuinjutsu also lie within this chamber. Use carefully this power and bring true peace to these War torn lands.**_

After reading this Naruto could only stare in astonishment at his find.

'_The body of such a powerful being as the Rikudo Sennin and he is my ancestor. I must keep this hidden away from those who would disrespect this body and use it for their own gains.' _The red head thought as he looked into the crypt and saw a heavily emanciated body.

Suddenly one of the decrepit hands of the body reached up and grabbed the young Uzumaki nearly scaring the shinobi in training to death.

As the hand gripped Naruto he felt a powerful and almost evil chakra flaring up inside of himself.

_**Inside Hakke no Fuin Shiki mindscape**_

"_**This power! It's father but how could they have his body? I thought it was cremated after he died. I can feel this gaki's power growing from father's chakra. Even in death he has power beyond even the Biju." **_The Kyubi no Yoko thought as he was startled awake by the power that had begun coursing through his Jinchuuriki.

His own chakra had reacted without effort on his part and he could feel himself regaining his **Inton Chakura **(Yin Release Chakra) making him go back to his true original size. Although it did not have the consciousness of his true **Inton Chakura **it did have the power that he lost those years ago.

"_**Even in death you always help out your children father. Thank you." **_The titanic Biju said softly with a tear gathering at the edge of his eye.

"_**You are welcome Kurama-kun, I wish I could help all of my children as I have helped you." **_A deep voice replied.

"_**Father? But how could you be alive and here of all places?" **_The now named Kurama asked bewildered.

"_**I am not alive, what you hear is just the last remnants of my chakra resonating with my true successor. Although I'm not truly what one may consider dead." **_The voice stated weakly.

"_**How could**_ _**this gaki be your successor he is weak and allows those of that village to walk all over him?" **_The strongest of the nine Biju asked skeptically.

"_**Kurama-kun you should know by looking into this boy's life that he is far from weak! In fact he is by far my most powerful descendant with his will to never let all of the hatred he has suffered turn him into a monster. The fact that he can sense how deep their hatred of him really is makes him truly impressive. Neither of my sons could have this fortitude and that is how I know he is the one who will bring true peace to this world. But he can only do that with your help Kurama-kun as well as the help of your siblings." **_With each word the voice became weaker and weaker just barely above a whisper.

"_**How could I ever help some ningen after all they have done to me father?! Sealing me in one host after the other and using their accursed eyes to control me. How could I ever bring myself to let my own hatred go to help one of them?" **_Kurama begged for an answer.

"_**In time this boy will prove to you that not all humans are bad and when he gains my full power, which he shall when the time is right, then it will be as I last told you and your siblings Kurama-kun. Now my chakra is about done with its job so I shall leave you now Kurama-kun but think of what I have told you." **_With that the voice ended as did the influx of intense chakra.

"_**Well boy if you are as father says you will have to prove it to me before I ever help you." **_Kurama said as he laid his great head down to sleep.

_**Outside Mindscape**_

As Kurama and the Rikudo Sennin had their talk in Naruto's mind, young Naruto was experiencing some of the greatest pain and fear he had ever felt before in his life.

A chakra so powerful that it had become visible was being sucked into him and a burning sensation in his eyes made him want to pull them out.

It kept going on for what felt like an eternity to Naruto but soon it stopped and as it did the corpse that had grabbed on to him turned to dust and faded away.

"_**Naruto-sama! Are yoouuu alrriight? I'm going to use the Gyaku Kuchiyose no Jutsu to get us out of here" **_Aido said as he prepared his chakra for the technique.

Before he could perform it however the chakra stopped and Naruto fell to the floor gasping for air.

'_My chakra feels as if it has increased 100 fold! What happened to me?' _The young Uzumaki thought to himself as the pain subsided.

After thirty minutes of sitting on the temple floor the Uzumaki stood up and began searching around the room with caution to see if there were any more valuable tomes in the crypt.

On the farthest wall Naruto saw an aged katana and wakizashi on a podium above yet another scroll.

Walking towards the podium slowly Naruto noted that the **Saya **(Sheath) of both blades were well worn and made of a dark wood.

Grasping the katana Naruto slowly pulled it form its sheath so as to not ruin it in the event that it was rusted.

The blade was a 1.2 meters long and in pristine condition. The metal gleamed in the very dim lighting in the room.

The condition of the katana really confused Naruto as from the saya he could tell that it had been there for centuries yet the blade had no knicks or scratches from use or wear.

Slightly running his finger along the edge, Naruto cut himself as the blade was beyond scalpel sharp.  
>'<em>Something about this blade is unsettling yet at the same time it calls to me.' <em>Naruto thought placing the blade back in its sheathe.

Picking up the scroll Naruto could read the title that was smudged on the top.

_**Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu **_( Flying Heaven Govern Sword-Style).

Unwinding the scroll and seeing a multitude of kenjutsu forms that relied on something called _**Shinsoku **_( God Speed), Naruto began to see just how powerful this style was.

A smaller scroll fell to the floor as Naruto became engrossed in the his readings.

Aido seeing his friend to encompassed in his work slithered to the floor from his position on Naruto's shoulder and grabbed the scroll in his mouth and bringing it to his summoner's attention.

"**Naruto-sama you may want to read this before you finish that scrolllll." **The python said dropping the scroll at his summoner's feet.

"I think you are right Aido-san, some of the forms in this scroll seem so impossible maybe this smaller scroll will have answers on just what this really is."

Opening the small scroll, Naruto noted that it was in fact a letter from someone named Uzumaki Seijuro Hiko.

_**To the one who wishes to walk the path of a swordsmaster I give you the most powerful of all kenjutsu. The Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu is the pinnaccle of speed and agility that stress two step movements to ensure that all enemies are slain. This style should only be used to protect those precious to you, inside the kata scroll is a Hijutsu I created that will form a special clone with the last remnants of my chakra and memories to train only one person to fully take on my mantle and carry on the Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu. Only those of the Uzumaki clan such as I can truly use this style as it would eventually destroy the body musculature of anyone else. Use wisely my knowledge and always protect those that are precious to you.**_

_**Uzumaki Seijuro Hiko XIV **_(3)

_'My clan truly was monstrous and powerful to have members such as Hiko a part of it. I must bring respect back to my clan and revive it in all its glory.' _Naruto thought as he noticed the instructions for the special clone technique.

**Chishio Bushin no Jutsu **(Blood Clone Technique).

It would allow the user to form a clone of blood and chakra that could last for years without ever being destroyed even if fatally injured by an attack. This was due to the massive amount of chakra and blood that had to be put into the jutsu and the fact that the blood was always reforming after the initial sacrifice of blood the user had no need to give any more up.

However the drawback to the jutsu lied in its chakra requirements. It would take the chakra of several powerful Jounin working together to actually perform the technique.

However as a member of the Uzumaki clan and still unknown to him as the Jinchuuriki of Kurama he would not have this issue.

Hiko's instructions were instead of using his (Naruto's) own blood, to use the blood that was hidden in a secret compartment under the sword podium. This was the blood of Hiko himself.

It would carry the last vestiges of his chakra and memories before his death and allow him to train the user for the amount of time it would take or until the clone deemed the learner a master ready to take up his mantle.

"Aido-san I'm going to use the Chishio Bushin at Ryuchidou to train with Hiko's clone instead of at this temple. I'm also going to summon one of the storage snakes and have them hide the temple in their belly until I can find a more decent place to reconstruct it away from prying eyes. I want you to head back to Ryuchidou and tell Manda-sama that I will be using the **Hebi-Ryu Hijutsu: Kage Bushin no Jutsu **(Snake Style Secret Technique: Shadow Clone Technique) to fool the populace of Konohagakure into thinking I'm still around and keep them focused on the poor performance I will have the clone do." Naruto said as he sealed away the scrolls and swords he found.

The hebi clans secret clone technique was unique in that it formed a clone using a special snake that copied the charka signature of the user down to the smallest frequency and capacity. It kept all the memories of the original and passed on memories it gained from experience.

The greatest quality of this clone was that it could literally pass off as a regular human as it could be sustained for an indefinite amount of time with no cost to the user. This technique had been developed by Manda right after Orochimaru had become rogue and so the colossal serpent had not taught it to the Sannin.

"**It shall be done at once Naruto-sama, but if you are going to be staying at Ryuchidou for years how will you interact with that lavender spitfire you have a liking for?" **Aido asked as he prepared his chakra to reverse summon back to the snake realm.

"I will let Hyuga Hinata know that I will have the clone helping her train and don't speak of things you do not know Aido-san." Naruto said with a mock glare as a light blush stained his cheeks.

Of course his partner was right he did like the Hyuga heiress. This was due the fact that unlike the rest of the village she actually saw him as a person and after an entire year of following him around she confessed that she was intrigued by his will and determination to never give up.

_Flashback 0ne Year Ago_

A poof of smoke marked the arrival of Naruto back into Konohagakure no sato in his training ground.

Rubbing his arm where his new tattoo was to numb the pain Naruto started to make his way back to his own apartment.

When he reached the village proper he came upon a rather sickening sight.

"P..please s..top and l.e..ave me alone." Hinata squealed out.

Surrounding her were three boys each six years old and in the Academy.

"Why should we do that freaky eye girl? I hear you are from that clan of freaks who think they are better than everyone else. So why don't you make us!" A fat boy with shaggy brown hair and brown eyes remarked as he pushed the young Hyuga to the ground.

"Yeah eye freak why don't you make us." The skinny boy next to the left said. He possessed forgettable black eyes and hair.

The third boy had a smug smile on his face that could be counted as malicious to a child's eyes. His grey eyes sparkled with hatred.

Naruto hated seeing anyone getting picked on especially when they couldn't defend themselves was getting quite upset. So upset in fact that he instinctually began releasing a subtle and small amount of _**Sakki **_(Killing Intent) that made the three boys look around for the culprit.

As it was the intent was not enough to paralyze or even really frighten a genin but to six year old Academy students it was enough to draw their attention and cause a bit of fear.

"Why don't you pick on someone who can fight back you bakas?" Naruto questioned angrily as he quickly stepped in front of Hinata.

"Well it looks like the freak demon boy wants to fight. Let's show him what happens when he fights students from the Academy." The leading boy exclaimed as a bit of blood lust entered his eyes.

Now he could truly take his anger out on someone rather than just verbally pick on them.

His two friends started moving in a circular wave around Naruto and Hinata, who happened to be standing behind Naruto, as if they were sharks going into a frenzy.

The first boy ran forward and struck out with his right fist in an attempt to hit Naruto in the face and daze him so that they could then stomp him together.

The attempt failed however as Naruto moved ever slightly to the left barely being grazed by the punch and then threw his shoulder into the boy's sternum and knocking the air from the boy.

Coming up behind Naruto was the leader with a high kick that Naruto deftly dodged by leaning his entire upper body back.

Before he could compose himself, the final bully swept under him to knock his feet from under him, which would leave him vulnerable to a gang attack.

However Naruto demonstrated his flexibility and dexterity by using the force of his dodge to then go into a backflip kicking the attacker from behind in the head and dropping him like a stone.

The leader of the group seeing that he was now alone decided that discretion was the better part of valor and ran away; leaving his friends behind.

"I won't forget this demon freak boy!" The boy yelled as he ran away.

Turning to face the girl he just helped Naruto noticed that her face was cherry red and there were tears glistening in her eyes.

"A beautiful girl like you should never cry Hime-chan. Don't worry I won't let anyone hurt you." Naruto said with conviction.

He didn't know why but for some reason he could only see her pearly eyes as if they were the moon and her face was delicate and cute.

"A..no..thank you I'm sorry you ha..d to save me. I'm s..o weak." Hinata said with her stutter in full effect.

She just knew that this boy would now believe she was weak and was no more than a wall flower. Hinata couldn't tell what it was but just being around the boy made her heart thump faster and she wanted to be just like him.

Brave enough to save a total stranger.

"You are not weak Hime-chan. You just need to train and you can be as strong as any Hokage. I will help you if you want." Naruto replied not liking how she put herself down.

As if it was some fact that others led her to believe.

"W..ould you re..ally help me?"

"Yes I will. You will be the most powerful Kunoichi in the world with my help." Naruto genially smiled at that thought.

"What is your name Hime-chan?"

"My is Hyuga H..inata. And yours?" already she could feel something forming between them.

"I am Uzumaki Naruto and I'm going to be the most powerful Hokage of all time." He said with passion.

On that day Naruto had met the one girl that would always have his heart.

_Flashback End_

After that they would secretly meet and Naruto would help her correct her form of **Juken **(Gentle Fist) so that she could one day show her clan that she was not as weak as they thought.

She too was smitten by Naruto but had yet to admit that. While her confidence was boosted by their interaction she still had not reached that point of confidence.

Naruto would send his Chishio Bushin to train and correspond with Hinata as he trained with the Hebi clan.

As Aido poofed away in smoke a snakelike smirk could be seen on his face knowing that he would be teasing Naruto later.

'_I hope Manda-sama will let me stay at Ryuchidou for so long, I'll have to become more powerful fast so that I can finally bring my clan back into this world.' _Naruto thought as he exited the temple the way he came.

Before leaving the temple he sealed away all the masks that had been on the wall. Summoning a giant black snake it quickly engulfed the temple and slowly let it sink into the **Kekkai **(Barrier) separating it from the outside world until Naruto deemed it ready.

Naruto looked at the now empty space one last time before he headed back to the village to see Hinata one last time until his return.

**Konohagakure Same Time**

Sarutobi Hiruzen could honestly say that he detested nothing more than _paperwork_. It was never ending.

And everything he signed seemed of so little importance. Why should he care if two shops that sold the same product were in close vicinity to one another?

Why should he ban one shop over the other? Really the civilians were being quite bothersome.

The Shinobi no Kami could only shudder as his assistant brought in more paper work for him to sign. "Really Nariko-chan there shouldn't be this much paperwork to do?" Hiruzen asked pleadingly.

He really wanted to get out and walk around the village for a change of pace or at the least smoke his pipe.

"Don't worry Hokage-sama there are only three more stacks to go for the day." The young lady said with a smile.

Her dark hair absorbed the sunlight and went well with her pale skin. She was a rather slim girl but nice enough to everyone that came through the office that many did not notice her size.

Before Hiruzen could bang his head on his desk an Anbu with a porcelain dog mask appeared in a swirl of wind and leaves using the Shunshin no Jutsu.

"Hokage-sama I was patrolling the outer perimeter of the village just beyond the gates when I felt a massive build- up of strong chakra. I went to investigate and found a giant hole in the ground with slither marks that were at least 10 meters wide. I think Orochimaru has returned Hokage-sama." Inu, known to the world as Hatake Kakashi, said with a bit of worry in his voice.

Every time he had tried to go against the now rogue Sannin he had been left just barely alive and always on a whim.

Sitting up with a serious look on his face Sarutobi contemplated the situation.

"Inu I want you and four squads to form a defensive perimeter around the village. Have Yugao round up all available Jonin and Chunin to be guards for the civilians. After that I want the _**Konoha Keimu Butai **_(Tree Leaf Military Police Force) on high alert looking for any suspicious activity. I will personally have three Anbu members with me and go take a look at this disturbance." Hiruzen said as he stood from his desk.

"Hai Hokage-sama." With that Kakashi distorted away in a swirl of leaves.

'_What are you up to now Orochimaru? Have you returned already for your revenge?' _Hiruzen thought to himself as he prepared himself for a possible battle.

_**Konoha Outskirts Moments Later**_

Sarutobi appeared at the very spot where the Uzumaki Temple had been in a swirl of leaves. Dressed in his black battle outfit with a massive shuriken on his back.

'_This can't be right. The Uzumaki Temple is gone! Did Orochimaru somehow get past the protections that were set up by Mito-sama? If this is true then I fear that Konoha will suffer more down the road. But the only way for someone to get in is to have the blood of an Uzu..' _Not even finishing his thought Sarutobi flickered away in another swirl of leaves leaving his Anbu to be astounded by his speed.

Appearing once more now in the village at a specific rundown apartment building Sarutobi quickly raced to the nearest door.

After waiting for a minute young Naruto (4) answered the door.

"Hello Ji-san how may I help you today?" Naruto asked politely.

Sensing the amount of chakra that young Naruto was putting out told Sarutobi that this was definitely the real Naruto and that he was in good health.

"Just checking in on you my boy to see how your day is going." Sarutobi quickly covered.

'_If Naruto is fine and this is no clone how could Orochimaru gain access to the Uzumaki Temple much less destroy it. I know it was in ruins but the Seals built into made it so that it could not be destroyed easily.' _Were the current thoughts running through Hiruzen's mind.

"Well Naruto how would you like to go for a bowl of Ramen?"

_**Ryuchidou Six Months Later**_

"Do it again Naruto! You must draw your blade faster than that if you wish to truly use this form of Kenjutsu to its maximum potential." Uzumaki Hiko barked as he watched his apprentice re-sheathe his katana once again.

Said apprentice was glaring at his master with dark intentions. Focusing back on the rather large tree in front of him, Naruto once again drew his katana as fast as he possibly could with _**Fūinjutsu: Shishi Omomizuke Shīru**_ (Sealing Technique: Four Limbs Weighting Seal) slowing down his movements.

Normally a child Naruto's age would be unable to wield a katana in the way that Naruto was currently using it due to its length and weight but since Naruto had moved to Ryuchidou his diet had changed to a high protein diet.

Eating rabbits and whatever other game meat he could hunt for around the summoning realm. This allowed the Kyubi inside him to use that as a base to build his torn muscles faster than when he was in Konohagakure where no one would sell him good produce. The results of said muscle building increased the muscle density throughout his entire body. Said density increased his strength greatly as well as causing him to grow a few centimeters above average height for his age.

As his sword left it's sheathe in a blur, the tree shook slightly from the air pressure of the blade passing it by.

While he didn't strike the tree with his blade, a thin line could be seen going across the entire trunk of the tree.

'_He is progressing far faster than even I did when I was first training under my own sensei. Just what is this boy?' _Hiko thought to himself.

Hiko stood at 158 cm with a slender build and a youthful, feminine visage; he possessed mid-back length red hair tied in a thick ponytail and a cross-shaped sword scar on his left cheek.

Hiko's eyes, too, are unusual, being a deep violet. He had once gone by a different name.

That name had been Uzumaki Kenshin. That is until he had been taken under the wing of his own sensei and trained to use _Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu_.

After mastering the style and killing his master as was tradition he took up his master's title of Soujuro Hiko but added his last name of Uzumaki.

"Naruto, when you draw your blade make sure that it stays parallel to the ground and that you have already decided on which of the nine angles you will strike from." Hiko said as Naruto once again placed his blade back into its sheath.

The nine angles that Hiko spoke of were the nine possible ways for any kenjutsu attack to come from.

Those being considered the nine dragon heads.

Karatake (Tang Bamboo/Tree Trunk Bamboo) Aimed at above head with downward strike: (ichi, one)

Sakagesagiri ( Inverted Kasaya Cutter) Aimed at right shoulder diagonally:(ni, two)

Miginagi ( Right Mower) Aimed at right arm's center from the side: (san, three)

Migikiriage ( Right Cutting Upward) Aimed at right arm's bottom/right wrist diagonally: (shi, four)

Sakakaze ( Inverted Wind) Aimed at groin area from below via upward stroke, or straight from front:(go, five)

Hidarikiriage ( Left Cutting Upward) Aimed at left arm's bottom/left wrist diagonally: (riku, six)

Hidarinagi Left Mower) Aimed at left arm's center from the side: (shitsu, seven)

Kesagiri ( Kasaya Cutter) Aimed at left shoulder diagonally: (hatsu, eight)

Tsuki/Shitotsu ( Thrusting/Thorn Stab) Aimed at center of chest, at breastbone:(kyuu, nine)

These nine positions made it possible for any and all kenjutsu to be performed and Hiten Miturugi took advantage of all nine whereas other kenjutsu forms adhered to strictly one or two of those points.

Hiko had even told Naruto that one of the most advanced techniques in Hiten Mitsurugi attacked all nine spots simultaneously at Shinsoku level speed making it un-dodgeable and nearly un-blockable.

But Naruto wouldn't be learning that form for a few more years yet at least not until he had the experience needed to properly perform the technique.

Staring at the tree Naruto imagined one of the nine points to attack from and slowed his breathing.

With no warning Naruto's blade was already drawn and a much larger mark appeared on the tree. Naruto's chosen point had been the Migikiriage as it would allow him to disable or disarm an opponent if they were wielding a blade.

The mark on the tree opened further.

"How was that sensei?" Naruto asked as his breathing evened out. The constant practice was tiring even for an Uzumaki.

Even now he could feel the muscles in his arms and legs tearing and healing themselves thanks in part to his powerful chakra.

Each time his muscles healed themselves this way they became stronger, denser, and more tactile allowing him to go beyond his former limits.

As it was his muscles were now twice as dense as that of the average Jonin. Now this wasn't to say that Naruto could beat a Jonin in strength because of this as Guy Maito would attest that this just gave Naruto an edge over most shinobi but not a full win.

Experience would be the true factor in any fight and as of now Naruto lacked that key element.

-Rurouni Kenshin OST Last Wolf Suite-

Without answering Hiko lunged forward in a blur with his sword already drawn ready to decapitate Naruto had the Hebi summoner not parried the blow with his own katana.

"What are you doing sensei?" Naruto asked with an edge to his voice.

Their blades locked in a battle for domination before Hiko's experience and power kicked in and forced Naruto back.

"I'm teaching you a lesson and you would do well to learn it otherwise I will kill you." Hiko stated with a deadly tone.

Sekkai moistened the air around them as Hiko's intent to kill was brought to bear and for a moment his eyes flashed a cold violet.

In those eyes Naruto saw his death and no remorse.

He would not die here! No he had to become the most powerful shinobi and Hokage to fulfill his dream and tell Hinata-chan how he felt about her.

Immediately after those thoughts Naruto's own eyes hardened and gained a cold edge to them. His intent to kill rose and clashed with that of Hiko's.

Whereas Hiko's intent was cold and displayed only the actual intent for cold killing Naruto's intent was that of a predator.

One that had been threatened and was now backed into a corner and ready to strike back. It was like a giant snake that was now constricting Hiko's own swordsman intent with malice.

Hiko suddenly fazed forward with only the slightest tensing of muscles.

Raising his katana Naruto was able to deflect the blow to the left making his sensei overstep by a small margin which weakened the swordsman's stance allowing Naruto to swing his blade at a diagonal angle in the hopes of bisecting the man. Of course Hiko was far too experienced for that tactic to work and with the barest hint of movement his katana blocked Naruto's in a shunt block.

"If this is all you can do maybe I should kill you now and find a new student to teach." Hiko coldly stated.

His eyes were harder than steel as he gouged Naruto's reaction.

Naruto's fingers tightened on his blade but that was the only indication of him listening to his sensei.

'_Good he has become immune to the taunts of his opponent. He keeps his mind on the objective. It probably helps that he has someone trying to kill him.' _Hiko thought to himself.

A slight twitch in Hiko's left shoulder barely warned Naruto from which direction the blade was going to come from.

Shifting his left foot so that it was behind his right foot by thirty centimeters and turned at a slightly acute angle Naruto was able to shunt aside his sensei's blade and then with a spin of his wrist his katana swung towards his sensei with a bit of centrifugal force behind which forced Hiko to jump back using his _Shinsoku_.

Hiko jumped forward at his student with his blade re-sheathed and with such speed drew the blade as Naruto brought his blade up again to stop the blow.

Back and forth the two danced and clashed. When one moved forward the other would counter with a swift strike. The clashing of steel rung through the air like a constant hum as if all of the strikes were one continuous hit. Sweat poured off both swordsmen as their pace increased in tempo.

Naruto's breathing was becoming more labored each passing moment as his stamina was not at the level of his master's yet and he was still only a novice at the _Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu_ while Hiko was a consummate master.

Each time he made for a strike his master would use the minimal amount of energy and deflect the blow. Naruto's clothing was shredded in numerous areas as a testament to the number of times he had already been hit.

To make matters most dire his master would throw in random insults to disrupt his concentration but luckily after the past year in training he had let go of any idiotic tendencies that came with being provoked. No his master was baiting him into making simple mistakes that an ordinary shinobi would be able to get away with if they were in a regular battle but against a master swordsman like Hiko even a slip was instant death.

Hiko's major advantage in this fight besides experience was his speed. The man was just too fast for any counter attacks to be made. His speed was easily greater than that of experienced elite Jonin. Outside of a _**Shunshin no Jutsu **_(Body Flicker Technique) that was pumped with exceptionally powerful chakra there was no way Naruto could hope to measure up in terms of speed with his master. Yet.

Hiko had told him that he would develop the same amount of speed if not more by the time he mastered the form.

It also didn't help that the man started adding Taijutsu strikes in the mix. He would add a kick or punch in unexpected blade deflections or blocks. At one point he almost hit Naruto in a very vulnerable artery that would have easily killed anyone without a healing factor.

_Even after a year and hundreds of hours of practice I'm still nowhere near touching him, _Naruto thought in rabid frustration, _no matter what move I make, he counters it with no effort. _

Indeed even before Naruto had gotten Hiko to train him in Kenjutsu he had been training with the snakes for six months on Iaido, which was basically the same as battojutsu, as well as in a flexible Taijutsu style that Orochimaru favored. The snakes had also taught him how to use the environment to his advantage and how to disappear even in plain sight.

But nothing he tried worked on Hiko. Kicking dirt into his face whenever he was able to raise his leg was thwarted with but a miniscule movement of the head. Dodging strikes and then coming in from an unorthodox way using his flexibility was met with an unbending gaze that mocked him at every step.

The fight continued on in this vein for a complete hour before he just stopped an errant slash from Naruto with nothing but his forefinger.

-Rurouni Kenshin OST Last Wolf Suite End-

"Enough Naruto I have learned a great deal in this past hour. I must say you are a true prodigy my student. You learn from both theory and practical application, Hiko stated as he put his sword back in its sheath, you may not have noticed it but you were able to not only perceive my next movements but also to a limited extent guard against them since you could not outright counter them."

Hearing this made the now panting Naruto look up from his hunched position and take in all his sensei had just said.

He had noticed the small muscle twitches that his sensei made whenever he was about to strike and at certain points it had been as if time had stopped and allowed him to perceive the next move Hiko would make.

Of course in the middle of battle that he had assumed was real he did not have time to question it.

"You are also now showing the first signs of the precognitive abilities that our Kenjutsu gives us. It won't be to the same level as someone with a _**Dojutsu**_(Eye Technique) but it won't be too far off either. Your battle instinct will always be greater than any Dojutsu." Hiko continued on.

"The reason I attacked you with the intent to kill was to test your resolve as well as to gauge your progress first hand. I must admit that you are far more powerful and skilled than I was at your age. If you keep going at the pace you are going you will have mastered the Hiten within several more years." Hiko said as Naruto absorbed that information.

'_But my skill is nowhere near that great. Surely Hiko-sensei must be exaggerating about my skill.' _Thought the red head to himself.

If he was such a prodigy then why could he not even injure his sensei or even cut his clothing.

Naruto failed to realize that although he was unable to land any hits on Hiko for him to have lasted as long as he did in such an intense battle with him marked him as more than a prodigy. Hiko was from a time that made even the _**Sengoku Jidai**_(Warring States Period) look like a paradise.

Most children were conscripted at the age four and were put through harsh training that had a survival rate of 9%. That low percentage made it so that quality was far more valued than quantity.

It had been only a few centuries of this period that forced the very first Seijuro Hiko to invent the Hiten Mitsurugi ryu due to the high number of opponents one would have to face on the battlefield. The style was tailor made to destroy armies.

Hiko was basically forged in war and death and as such would take one of his own era to understand just what it would take to even scratch him in battle.

"Naruto I want you to start practicing all of the katas I have shown you so far with your **Kage Bushin no Jutsu **(Shadow Clone Technique) for no less than ten hours a day. You need to use at the least thirty to gain the experience you will require to fully master this style." Hiko said as he turned away to head back into Ryuchido.

"Hai Hiko-sensei, what shall you be doing while I train sensei?" Naruto asked curiously.

If his master wanted him to train more on his own he must have something planned.

"I'm going to an old place hidden from the world long ago by the Uzumaki of my time and retrieve an item of immense power. I shall be gone for at least a month so when I get back I want you to have mastered those kata." With that the ancient Uzumaki left.

'_With the special ability of the Kage Bushin no Jutsu if I use thirty clones a day to practice for no less than ten hours that would give me the experience of 310 hours a day and over a month period would be slightly more than a year of _experience_ overall.' _Naruto thought. That much experience would help him master the style a lot quicker.

Forming the specific hand seal Naruto sub-vocalized, _Taju Kage Bushin no Jutsu_, and with barely a poof of smoke thirty copies of himself came into existence.

"Alright we must practice for no less than ten hours a day so I want each of you to begin with the basics of the style. Battojutsu and work your way up to the current technique. I will be working on my chakra control by doing the _**Suimen Hoko no Gyo **_(Water Surface Walking Practice) again until it becomes second nature to me." With that said the clones each got into the basic battojutsu stance with enough space away from each other so that they wouldn't hit each other and started drawing and re-sheathing their katanas as fast as possible.

Naruto performed the _Ninpou: Shunshin no Jutsu _and in a flicker of displaced wind appeared near the large river that ran through Ryuchidou. Placing his katana on the ground along with his clothing until he only wore his boxers. Stepping out onto the water the chakra being sent to his feet already starting changing in variations as the water would speed up or slow down at certain intervals.

What made this exercise so hard was that Naruto's chakra would constantly grow and he already had more chakra than anyone in Konohagakure, even more than the Sandiame. So he worked on refining his control every single day for at least two hours by performing this technique or by swirling his chakra around in small circles throughout his body and using the absolute least amount of chakra to keep his control high.

As he stood out in the middle of the river he started to go through stances for an ancient Taijutsu that the snakes were teaching him.

It was once known as Tai Chi and it was not only a martial form but also helped with meditation.

Naruto's mind started to wonder as he progressed into the form and his mind became focused.

So focused to the point that he entered into a moving meditation and soon found himself in his mindscape.

'_What is this place?' _Naruto thought as there was now a monstrous forest in front of him. Well more of a jungle than anything.

To his right was massive body of water that was almost opaque in appearance.

Before he could figure out where he was a truly monstrous shadow fell upon him.

Looking up Naruto was met with the sight of a massive _Yoko _(Fox) with nine massive tails swaying behind it. Said fox was surrounded by the massive trees of the jungle and they seemed to keep him at bay.

This being was the _Kyubi no Yoko _(Nine Tailed Fox Spirit).

"**So you finally come visit me **_**ningen, **_**to what do I owe this honor. Although I must admit that this mindscape is much better than the last one.**" The malicious being stated while his slit eyes took in his newest Jinchuriki.

Even he had to admit that the boy was very impressive and if what Rikudo Sennin Ojisan said was true than this boy was the newest incarnation of Asura.

Naruto while slightly frightened at the sight of the massive being before him quickly put everything together.

"You are why the people of Konoha hate me. Well their own stupidity and ignorance is the reason but now I know at least in some small way why they did what they did. So what can I do for the likes of you Kyubi-san?" Naruto asked politely.

His training from the snakes making it so that he was polite to any being no matter how powerful or dangerous they were. He respected the fox for its power and if his history was correct all of the struggles the fox itself must have gone through.

When humans got it into their heads that they owned you for no other reason than that they did it must get quite annoying and a bit disconcerting.

How could someone who has only been on the planet for a mere blip of second in comparison to yourself claim you have no sentience and should serve only them?

Kumogakure no sato (The Village Hidden by Clouds) and Uchiha Madara really were bad examples of humanity.

"**I want nothing from you gaki. But know that I will not let you use my chakra as if it were your own!**" Kurama growled. Even if he could tell that the boy was sincere with his question and after viewing the memories of the boy he knew just what kind of person the boy was.

The boy would never give up even with the world against him as long as he had just one person behind him.

He would move heaven and earth to protect those that he calls precious and so far only the snakes and the young Hyuga girl fell into that category. The boy was mostly pure although he had killed it was so that others woudn't have to and so that those he killed could never hurt anyone else again.

But Kurama's pride would call for nothing less than the boy putting his life on the line before he would ever get along with his container.

"I feel a lot of hatred and confusion from you Kyubi-san. But if I were in your position I suppose I would feel the same. So as your container I extend to you my hand in friendship. Although you are more than you seem I can tell you are lonely as well." Naruto's innocent offer may have come out a bit childish but it hit Kurama in the chest.

'_This boy must really be your heir Oji-sama. Maybe me and my brethren can truly become free.' _Were Kurama's thoughts as Naruto vanished from the mindscape.

Back in the real world Naruto had gone through his entire kata for Tai Chi and his body was now sore.

He had been at this for more than two hours and his control on his chakra was once again at its peak.

"I now know the truth and I feel that maybe I can truly let go of my hatred for Konohagakure. But I don't think I can ever forgive them." Naruto said aloud making his way back to the bank of the river.

After getting dressed he headed back to the area where his clones were and started to train his overall speed with his movements.

Hiten didn't focus on just battojutsu but also with running speed and other movements so Naruto needed his body to be able to move at physical speeds that would normally be impossible even for regular shinobi.

He put on weighted seals that were made by Fuinjutsu that each had a weight of 60kg for each of his limbs and his torso. This would affect his musculature and allow him to move at Shinsoku speed and gain additional muscle mass for power moves.

His body would be the proper combination of physical strength and speed to maximize the Hiten's style to its absolute limit.

Hiko told him that it took both power and speed to truly master the style and his former master had the power while Hiko had the speed.

Naruto would make his body the best of both worlds.

With that Naruto and his clones went on to train until his body fully exhausted itself.

**Timeskip 1 week Chakra Affinities**

"**Naruto-san it is time you learned just what the nature of your chakra is.**" Manda's booming voice said as said snake coiled around his young summoner.

Many would never want to be in that position but Naruto had grown accustomed to being in Manda's presence and his coils.

Besides if he was too afraid to let Manda coil around him how could he (Naruto) be expected to ride upon Manda's head into battle when the need arose.

"What do you mean by nature of my chakra Manda-sama?" The young red head questioned.

In all of his studies he had yet to come across _**Seishitsu Henka **_(Change in Chakra Nature).

"**Before I go into detail about it Naruto-san I will first tell you that besides the **_**shintai enerugī **_(Physical Energy) **and **_**seishin enerugī**_(Spiritual Energy) **that make up normal chakra there are many other types of chakra forms out there. One case is Senjutsu **(Sage Technique)** chakra which is the combination of **_**shintai enerugī,**_ _**seishin enerugī, and shizen enerugī **_(Natural Energy)." Taking a pause Manda looked into Naruto's eyes to make sure that the boy was understanding what he was saying.

Naruto's eyes quivered slightly as he followed along Manda's explanation sorting the information for later use.

"**Furthermore, you know that chakra is used to make some form of effect to the outside world that would normally be considered impossible such as using the elements. Now the way shinobi can use that chakra is by first forming the chakra in a specific way and then by adding both an element such as Futon combined with **_**Keitai Henka**_(Change in Chakra Form) **making that Futon into any shape desired produces a Jutsu **(Technique)."

Naruto absorbed this information finally understanding just what the training today would entail.

"So you want to see just which element I may have some form of affinity for Manda-sama." Naruto stated as his prodigious intellect began to shine through.

"**Yes, you catch on quick as usual. Now to find out what your affinity is I had a membe of the stealth division procure you some chakra paper that is grown from a tree raised on chakra. After putting your chakra into the paper it will have a specific reaction depending on your affinity. It will split if it is Futon, get wet if it is Suiton, crumble to dust if it is Doton, catch fire if it is Katon, and will wrinkle if it is Raiton. Now push your chakra through the paper and let's see what element you have." **

A small black snake slithered forward with a square piece of paper in its mouth and handed it to the shinobi in training.

Taking hold of the paper Naruto slowly began feeding it his chakra.

A split second later the paper split evenly down the middle. But before Manda or Naruto could respond the two remaining pieces also reacted to his chakra and one half became very wet while part of the other crumbled into the dust and then a slightly larger piece crinkled.

'_**This is astounding! For this young boy to have four natural chakra affinities. Truly this boy is destined for greatness.' **_The colossal purple serpent thought in awe.

"What does this mean Manda-sama? Will this cause any problems?" Naruto asked slightly panicked.

"**No it will not cause any problems at all Naruto-san. This just means we will have to increase your training so that you can fully realize your potential. Now since your Futon reacted first we will train you in Futon chakra. The first thing you must realize is that to be a true master of Futon you must be a refined brute. The reason for this is that Futon chakra is a combination of precision cutting power and brute force to kill your enemies." **Manda explained uncoiling himself and moving towards a darker part of the cave.

Standing Naruto followed behind the colossal purple snake going through a winding path that lead to a wall made of stone and in the stone were curves and cuts about three millimeters deep.

The stone wall was easily 2.5 meters thick and 10 meters tall.

"**This, Naruto, is known to the Hebi clan as the **_**Sekijoheki **_(Reishi Interlocking Wall) **it has the special attribute of resisting any form of chakra damage. The cuts you see in the wall were made by Orochimaru after he '**_**mastered**_**' his own Futon affinity." **Manda said as he coiled backwards to look at the wall.

There had been a heavy sense of sarcasm when Manda had said Orochimaru _mastered _his Futon element.

This was due to the fact that Orochimaru had in fact not truly mastered his Futon affinity to the highest level. He had given up on mastering the element when he realized that among all the elements wind was the most subtle.

Meaning that the number of large scale jutsu that was shared by the other elements were not as emphasized in wind.

Although, a true Futon master could easily destroy armies with a wind gale more powerful than a natural hurricane.

However to reach that level of mastery took years of hard work and dedication and Orochimaru was more dedicated to his experiments than to mastering his elemental affinity to the proper degree.

"**Now Naruto what you must know is that among all of the elemental affinities Futon is known as the element of murder and assasination. It is the quietest and most subtle of all the elements as well as the sharpest when wielded by a master. You will test your mastery of the Futon manipulation once a month on this wall after we get you to the training ground you will use for this exercise." **The snake leader said slithering towards an opening in the back of the cave.

After both left the cave they came upon a bright training ground that was covered in moss and grass with a tree almost as large as Manda himself sitting in the middle and a lake situated to the far right. Behind this scene Ryuchidou rose like a giant peering imperiously over the horizon.

"**Your first task is to use just your wind chakra to cut completely through a leaf. I am going to help you by letting you use the second ability of your Kage Bushin you learned from Orochimaru's scroll. But you are only allowed to use five clones at any given time. That technique is not to be a crutch." **

"Hai Manda-sama and I will not dishonor your gift by abusing it," Naruto said as he created five clones, "Is there any other advice you would offer me Manda-sama before I get started?"

"**Remember what I said about wind being the element for pure cutting power, imagine your chakra becoming ever thinner and sharper as your chakra grinds together. Imagine your chakra becoming sharper than a scalpel because wind is precision element like the scalpel is a precision instrument." **Manda responded as he slithered back towards his particular cave.

He didn't want to give Naruto all of the answers but he knew a good teacher pointed his student in the right direction and then let the student do the rest.

Besides the boy was a genius there wasn't much he wouldn't do with his unwillingness to give up.

As for Naruto himself, the young red head was having a bit of trouble getting his chakra to grind together to make a sharp point.

'_Come on Uzumaki you can see your chakra sliding against itself forming a small blade of some kind. Now make it grind harder and become a scalpel.' _The red head thought as his clones also began working on the excercise using leaves in the clearing.

After hours of painstaking work and concentration Naruto had cut most of his leaf in half. His hands were cut as was his clothing but only in a scuffed sort of way.

His five clones had long since dispersed and were replaced by another five every two hours.

"Come on I can get it to almost form a scalpel but I can't seem to get the shape truly right. It's like my chakra control is scewe.." Naruto stopped talking as he realized one important fact.

His chakra control was a bit out of whack as his control always fluctuated. This fluctuation was due to the presence of the Kyubi no Yoko. With the Biju's chakra being filtered and added to his own in increments meant that he would not ever have truly perfect control unless he and the Biju could ever get along however he could come very close.

Concentrating on the principles of the Water Walking Technique Naruto began to feel out the amount of chakra he would need and then he slowly shaped it into a small thin blade of wind which he then imagined being grinded against itself to wittle away the blade into that of a scalpel.

As he was doing this the leaf in his hand went from half cut to completely destroyed by thousands of small wind blades.

"Ouch! Maybe I overdid it a bit." Naruto said to himself as his bloody hand dripped. The small wounds began closing before Naruto even had a chance to look at it more carefully.

Manda who had been watching Naruto's progress from afar was stunned.

It wasn't every day you find a seven year old able to almost master the very first step to elemental manipulation on the very first day of that particular training.

'_**This boy truly is fearsome, he will be the one the Hakuja Sennin Ojisan spoke of in the prophecy. It's almost time to give him one of the eggs of his future familiar. I'm getting too old to be anyone's familiar anymore.' **_Manda thought as he watched Naruto pick up more leaves and go through the process again.

It really pleased him that Naruto wouldn't ask to move on to the next step without first truly mastering the basics unlike Orochimaru.

"Okay I've almost got it. Just a little sharper and !" Naruto's excitement could be felt throughout the entire training ground.

He had finally got his wind chakra to become almost microscopic and as sharp as a chakra scalpel. He could now cut a leaf without so much as a thought.

Naruto continued to practice with his five clones constantly on the leaf cutting technique for the rest of the day.

As the sun began to set Manda made his way down to his summoner to let him know that dinner would be served soon.

Nice bird eggs from the nearby Taka (Hawk) realm!

Manda had always had a soft spot for hawk eggs.

"**Naruto it's time for dinner, tomorrow morning we will move on to the next stage of your training in wind manipulation." **The big snake said.

"Hai Manda-sama, I look forward to the next lesson." Naruto answered in an exhausted voice.

Sweat beaded his brow and he was panting heavily.

Training with wind manipulation was a lot more taxing than he first thought.

**A short time later**

"**Alright Naruto the next step will be more taxing than the first. The same princples apply except instead of a leaf you will cut this entire waterfall in half with just your wind chakra." **Manda explained to Naruto in front of a roaring waterfall outside of the caves.

"Are you serious Manda-sama? There is no way that's possible." Naruto said in disbelief.

Manda stared at Naruto for a moment and then looked back towards the waterfall.

"**Orochimaru was able to do it. Are you saying that he has more potential than you do? Does this mean that he will always be more powerful than you? If so maybe we chose wrong for a summoner." **Manda lied.

Orochimaru hadn't tried cutting a waterfall in half with wind chakra until he was in his teenage years. However he needed Naruto to know that anything that seems impossible is possible you just can't give up.

After hearing Manda's retort Naruto became afraid of being expelled from the Hebi clan and with that fear his resolve to try harder kicked in.

'_I will not let Orochimaru's shadow be cast over me forever.' _The red head thought to himself as he formed five Kage Bushin and jumped onto the waterfall.

He and his clones each touched one of the ends of the falls and started to circulate his chakra through it.

As his chakra reached through the water he and his clones started to apply wind chakra to it slowly at first and then in a surge. His chakra started to cut at the water slowly and then with a major effort the water bean parting on both ends of the waterfall.

'_**Truly he is a genius. I feel bad for lying but I need him to know that he must never give up no matter how impossible the task.' **_Manda thought in awe as Naruto on his very first try was actually cutting the waterfall in half.

After six more hours of relentlessly cutting the waterfall, Naruto fell down exhausted. He would have to eat a lot to get his energy back.

"**Naruto I must congratulate you on a job well done and I also must apologize for my harsh words earlier. I did not mean them and they were not true Orochimaru did not master this part of his training until he was fifteen. You truly are a genius of both talent and hard work.**" The colossal snake said.

Naruto was too tired and at a loss for words and only replied with an almost whispered thanks.

"**I will give you a few days to get your strength back and we shall move on to the next step of truly mastering the wind element.**" Manda said picking up the young hebi summoner onto his back and taking him back into the caves for the night.

A few days later Naruto could be found sitting in the clearing with Manda once again assuming his teaching pose.

"**Now Naruto the next step to mastering the Futon element is to firstly identify which of the two types of Futon you are going to use. An example would be a Futon technique that is either a cutting blade or a pressurized bomb of wind. Now from your training you know how to add cutting power to a technique, it's time to teach you to add pressure and high density to a wind technique. Remember just because I am teaching you the next step does not mean to stop practicing the basics. So I want you to have formed a set of wind blades ready to be battle tested within six months." **Manda explained to his student.

Naruto absorbed all of the information and already knew what he wanted to do for making his wind blades.

"**Now to gain high pressure and density for a wind technique you have to hold the jutsu for an extended period of time, which in the shinobi world can equal death so you must learn how to create high density within seconds, and then you have to allow the external wind around you to have less pressure than what you are aiming for. One such Futon technique is the Futon: Atsugai that we will be teaching you in the future after you have mastered the basics. With the technique you can wipe out an entire army by yourself." **Manda said as he watched Naruto shift slightly.

The thought of finally mastering his Futon and being able to make the Hebi clan proud were his main thoughts.

'_I am getting closer to being the shinobi that the snakes can be proud of.' _Naruto thought.

"**Now Naruto I want you to form three hundred clones and have them each working on their breathing exercises for learning Futon. Breath in and hold that breath while having your chakra spinning it in one direction and slowly add more wind chakra to it. After you do that compress the chakra to as small as you can. When the chakra begins to whistle you will have mastered this exercise." **Manda explained to the Uzumaki.

"Hai Manda-sama. I will do as you have explained." With that Naruto made three hundred clones with almost no smoke involved showing his growing mastery of the technique.

Each clone as well as the original sat in meditative positions and started the breathing exercise. It would be another hour before the red head would get the exercise perfect.

The clones started to disperse in groups of ten at five minute intervals to allow Naruto to efficiently assimilate all of their combined knowledge. After the last clone dispersed Naruto breathed in a deep breath and after holding it for a moment began exhaling it and as he did this he started to spin his chakra until it formed a miniature ball in front of his mouth.

The next step he added his wind natured chakra to it giving it cutting power. As this happened the ball of wind chakra tried to expand but Naruto kept it from becoming more than the size of a medium sized ball.

The wind around Naruto began to distort as the air pressure around him lessened slightly. This in turn caused most of the air around Naruto to push apart the molecules in the atmosphere around him and formed a vacuum effect. When this happened the sphere of wind in front of Naruto started to give off a slight whine as the vacuum around him increased causing the sphere to grow in size a bit more.

Sweating Naruto forced his chakra to compress more turning the whine into a whirling bell sound that started to whistle loudly.

Around the entire training ground the winds picked up to the level of a gale.

Watching from his perch in one of the higher caves Manda could only send a proud look on to his new summoner.

'_**He has completed the second half of the training. He is ready to start learning more about hand seals and then we will begin training him in Futon Jutsu. I have a feeling we are going to have to teach him the Shinku (Vacuum) variant of Futon more than the other forms.' **_With those thoughts in mind Manda called for one of the infiltrator snakes.

A dark red snake that measured at three meters slithered towards him.

"**How may I be of assistance Manda-sama?" **the snake asked.

"**I need you to go to Konohagakure no sato and infiltrate the home of one Shimura Danzo and learn the lay out and all security measures for his home. Locate all the scrolls relating to the Shimura Ichzoku's Futon jutsu and if possible their Baku summoning contract. Don't take anything just bring me back this information and any other information you feel will be important for me to know. I think a test will soon be in order to test young Naruto's stealth and infiltration abilities." **The colossal serpent replied as he watched Naruto continue with the exercise until he was able to get it done in a short amount of time.

"**Hai Manda-sama it shall be done. I will take two others with me to make sure all ground is covered." **With that the red snake slithered away to complete its mission.

Making his way down the cave Manda headed toward Naruto to start the next phase of his training

"**Naruto you have now mastered the second stage of training. Now I want you to practice your hand seals and hand seal speed and when I deem you ready I will start teaching you a few simple Futon techniques that will be very supplementary to your arsenal. I know you, like Orochimaru, wish to learn about all the jutsu in the world but unlike Orochimaru you are willing to master everything before moving on. This is what will set you a part. Always remember it's not the number of jutsu one has but how one uses the few jutsu they have that matters." **The boss summons sagely advised.

Orochimaru and Naruto may have shared quite a few traits but they were too different to ever be the same.

Manda soon knew it would be time to show Naruto the hidden labs that Orochimaru had permanently abandoned so that he could begin his own research into the world. He suspected that Naruto would begin making minor modifications to his body to gain certain snake-like features such as the _Nan no Kaizo _(Soft Physique Modification) that Orochimaru favored.

But before they would allow such research and experimentation to happen they would have to teach Naruto about chemistry, anatomy, Iryo Ninjutsu (Medical Ninja Techniques), and genetics so that he wouldn't harm himself or the snakes that he would no doubt experiment on to make them better unlike Orochimaru who seemed to enjoy killing the snakes he experimented on.

With Naruto's intellect and work ethic Manda had no doubt that the boy would be far more successful than Orochimaru.

As for said red head he was currently going through all twelve official hand seals. His body was already remembering each seal and slowly gaining speed as each seal directed chakra in a certain way that instinctively his muscles were starting to remember. This developing muscle memory would become a great asset when in pitched fights and with higher chakra control.

The higher and more honed his control the fewer hand seals he would need for jutsu. In fact his use of the Ninpo: Shunshin no jutsu was almost to perfection as he only needed one hand seal for the D-rank technique. The same could be said for his use of the Ninpo: Kawarimi no Jutsu, Ninpo: Henge no jutsu, and the almost redundant Ninpo: Bushin no jutsu.

Thanks to all of the hours of heavy chakra control practices he performed daily he could do an illusionary Bushin although he preferred the much better Kage Bushin no jutsu for obvious reasons. It's ability to send all experience back to him as well as to be able to physically fight on its own.

For the next few hours Naruto would constantly practice his hand seals. This task he reserved only for himself and one other clone. While he still had his other clones doing as Hiko had told him to practice for ten hours with the Hiten techniques and forms that he already knew.

To most other shinobi this would be called stretching one's self to the absolute limit but Naruto was far too determined to be deterred. Already he could form all twelve hand seals in under eleven seconds. That meant he could form at least two hand seals per second.

He knew he could increase that speed by two times with more practice.

Manda who had been watching the boy train from a short distance received a report from the three infiltrators he sent to the Shimura home.

"**Manda-sama here is a map we were able to draw out of the entire home and all of the scrolls you wanted to know about appear to be in a slight underground cache. Apparently Danzo-san is still leading the Ne unit and would have kept all precious information in that base except that recently he has been having some trouble from the Sandiame and in an effort to keep his secrets safe has instead hidden them just under his home. He also appears to have a scroll from none other than Senju Hashirama about the Mokuton **(Wood Release) **that he used to train a Ne code named Kinoe. He also seems to possess a scroll on Juinjutsu **(Curse Seal Techniques) **that is from the Uzumaki clan. All are kept in a safe in a much larger scroll also containing the Baku summoning contract. All details on Ne patrols for the home are also included on the scroll Manda-sama." **The red snake reported.

It had been a very simple task for a predator such as himself and his clansmen o sneak into the Shimura home and gather the information that they needed. For further insurance a snake had been left behind the survey any changes that may happen.

"**Good, I want you to start teaching Naruto the better points of infiltration and stealth. In a months time I will have Naruto go and gain all of those scrolls to train him in Futon techniques and Juinjutsu. Everything else can be used for some other purpose until the time is right." **With that said Manda slithered forward to teach Naruto his first Futon technique.

"**Naruto that is enough practice for now. Its time for me to teach you a very versatile C-rank Futon technique. Its called the Futon: Daitoppa **(Wind Release: Great Breakthrough) **and can be used by a master to destroy a forest. Now the hand seals are Tora **(Tiger)**, Ushi **(Ox)**, Inu **(Dog)**, U **(Rabbit)**, and Mi **(Snake). **A true master of this jutsu will only need the Inu and Mi hand seals to perform this technique and destroy a forest of large trees. Just use both training exercises I taught you when performing the hand seals and imagine the wind around you pushing outward." **Manda instructed the Uzumaki.

Following the instructions and using the techniques he learned earlier Naruto created a gale of sharpened wind that blew the grass in the area around him away and carved into the ground forming deep gouges.

While not yet at the level of a master the technique was extremely potent in Naruto's hands.

He could see the potential of this technique to also increase the speed of his Shurikenjutsu.

Naruto ever the perfectionist continued to practice the jutsu over and over. His chakra was becoming strained with all of the use it was going through but that was a good thing as it would increase his chakra capacity as well as increase the strength of his chakra meaning not only would he be able to use more jutsu per battle but he would be able to use the least amount of chakra and still cast powerful jutsu.

Hours later Naruto could be found lying on the ground breathing heavily as his hands bled with small lacerations slowly healing. His training with the Futon: Daitoppa had been going on for quite some time now and with each successive try of the jutsu he would put more wind chakra causing the wind blades to backlash at himself.

Of course Manda could have told him that would happen but doing so would ruin the learning experience for his summoner as experience was always the greatest teacher.

So Naruto could now form a powerful gale that could definitely blow over a few trees and cause lacerating damage to stone.

'_I need to practice more with that jutsu. I can definitely see the usefulness in it and a few applications that would work well for assassinations. I have a few more minutes before I need to start my Hiten practices so I think I will meditate more. Maybe I can get the Kyubi to actually talk to me this time.' _The Uzumaki thought to himself.

Centering his mind Naruto immediately found himself back in the gigantic jungle with the Kyubi staring doen at him with one lazy eye.

"**I see you have returned gaki. What do you want now?**" Kurama asked the boy although he was certain the boy would demand his power.

"I only came to ask how are you doing today Kyubi-san?" Naruto replied with the utmost respect and politeness.

"**You dare mock me! If I weren't trapped here like some animal I would rip you to pieces.**" Kurama shouted.

Although Naruto had not said it mockingly Kurama had dealt with humans before and he knew their ways of mocking and degrading anything that they wanted.

"I did not mean to offend you Kyubi-san, I am truly curious to how you are doing today? Is there anything I can do to make you more comfortable?" Naruto asked sincerely.

Sensing no lie from the boy but still feeling quite petulant Kurama snorted, "**Yes you can release me and then allow me to eat you. That would make me more comfortable.**"

"Gomen, but I am unable to do that Kyubi-san as it would kill me and I have too much to do before I am allowed to die." Naruto said with a hint of apology in his voice.

He would have released the Kyubi if it would not be a guaranteed death for himself and possibly the snake clan. He could understand wanting to be free after being locked away for six years.

But Naruto had to become the most powerful shinobi in the world before he would be ready to die.

"**Then you are useless to me ningen. Leave!**" Kurama stated furiously.

Not that he thought the boy would actually let him out but it helped him work out his own frustrations for being sealed yet again.

"Why do you hold so much hatred Kyubi-san? You get to live for hundreds if not thousands of years. The average human life span is roughly seventy years. Add in that I'm a shinobi and that goes down by at least thirty years. You could simply wait out my life and then be free after I die." Naruto noted calmly. Ever since finding out he was the container for the Kyubi he had done some research about the Biju as a whole.

Apparently they had been around since before the Warring States Era and showed no signs of ever ending.

"**So like you humans to try and spin everything into your favor. I may live for centuries but I have been locked away for the better part of a century and add in that all of my containers have been Uzumaki who are known to live to at least eighty..**" Kurama ranted before he realized his slip about having other Uzumaki Jionchuriki.

"Wait, you have been sealed away for over a hundred years? And into my clan members each time?" Naruto asked with surprise as this meant that Konohagakure had the Kyubi for all that time.

And with only three ever recorded Uzumaki inhabiting the village including himself it didn't him too long to put the dots together.

"Mito-sama and my Kaa-san, Kushina were your other two Jinchuriki weren't they?" The prodigy basically stated.

"**Hmph as if I would answer to some ningen like you. Go away boy!**" Kurama growled. The boy was far too smart for his own good.

-Naruto OST Sadness and Sorrow-

After a few moments of looking at the massive fox Naruto dropped down to his knees and with a show of emotion said, "Gomen Kyubi-san for what has been done to you. I never knew just how badly we humans have wronged you. I know what it is like to be hated and feared by those around you because they don't understand you and I refuse to do that to you. I offer you once again my hand in friendship and I will do everything I can to help take away your hatred."

Tears had started to pour from Naruto's eyes. He now could see a bit into the actions of the fox and knew that the fox was also a victim.

Kurama for his part couldn't believe it. A ningen was not only bowing to him but was sincerely apologizing to him for all that the humans had ever done for him.

For a moment Kurama looked at the young Uzumaki and above him he saw the silhouette of none other than Otsutsuki Hagoromo appear with a sad smile on his face.

"**Get up boy! Tears won't take away all that has been done to me. Don't use words to tell me anything. I won't believe a lying ningen. You must show me with your actions.**" Kurama stated after watching Naruto for a few more minutes.

Naruto for his part looked up at the fox and, tears still stinging his cheeks, and stood up. He could feel the emotions raging within the fox as they went from hate, to rage, to confusion, and finally loneliness.

'_Too many people have hurt him in life. And here I was thinking that I was the only person to ever go through this. While I may have suffered for a few years he has had to suffer for more than a century. My pain does no compare to his._' Naruto thought as he watched the fox's eyes flicker with more emotion.

The burning red irises glowed not with malice but now confusion. For the first time in a long time a human actually was showing sympathy and actual compassion for him.

That should have been impossible with his brethren also being imprisoned in humans. Although Kurama did not get along with his family he did still join the annual meeting on the special _**Seishin Sekai **_(Mental World) that only the Biju reach. He knew of the struggles each Biju had with their respective containers and how each were treated by the humans.

It had only been recently that Gyuki and his current container gained the respect of Kumogakure no sato. No humans just could not be trusted!

Yet Kurama could feel a small part of himself disagreeing when it came to this human. Could his father have been right about this boy being the one?

-Naruto Ost Sadness and Sorrow End-

"**Just leave ningen and don't bother me anymore with this friendship and feeling business!**" The great fox roared.

Kurama just could not understand what to feel. On one hand Naruto was a human and they were not to be trusted. On the other Rikudo-ojisama had vouched for the boy and the boys feelings were definitely sincere.

Of that Kurama had no doubt because he, unlike what few knew, could sense more than negative emotions but all emotions. Each of the Biju had been given their own special abilities and Kurama had received the most versatile and powerful of abilities.

He could not only sense but understand the emotions of any being in his range which currently was about 300km in any direction.

This ability is why he gained the reputation for being summoned by a gathering of dark emotions.

His duty had always been to destroy those that would taint the Earth with their poisonous nature so that others could survive.

But of course humans had to overlook that fact and try to take his power for his own.

Before the fox could think anymore on the subject Naruto stood up from his kneeling position and with a look of steely resolve promised the fox he would return each and every day until he could help ease his hatred and loneliness.

With that Naruto left the fox to ponder just how different he was from other humans.

**Outside World**

As Naruto focused his eyes on the real world he noticed Manda waiting for him with another small serpent by his side.

Making his way over Naruto cleared his mind of his conversation with the Kyubi and greeted both snakes.

"**Naruto I noticed during your Futon training that you would be more inclined to a specific type of Futon ninjutsu that is based around first inhaling natural air and then releasing it in the form of Shinku (Vacuum) which in it's own rights is more powerful than other Futon ninjutsu. Now that is not to say that it is the most powerful because it is not. In fact it is considered to be the most assassination based techniques for the Futon element. So they are far more quiet and not as destructive unless you form some sort of space vacuums in the atmosphere to give them extra power. However the only clan to ever produce the Shinku variant of Futon are the renowned Shimura Ichizoku of Konohagakure no sato. While much is not told in this day about the clan before the founding of the Shinobi villages the Shimura were known as the Yami no Ansatsu **(Assassins of Darkness) **because unlike the Uchiha or Senju the Shimura stuck to the shadows and perfected their assassination techniques to their highest level."** Manda lectured as Naruto's attention was now fully on him and the story.

"Why are you telling me this Manda-sama? I am guessing that you want me to some how learn the Shinku Futon style to better compliment my own assassination forms. But what exactly do I need to do in order to learn these techniques Manda-sama? Naruto shot question after question as his brain tried to think up just what he would need to do.

"**It is quite simple Naruto. In one month's time you will infiltrate the home of one Shimura Danzo in Konoha and take all of the clan scrolls on his Futon techniques and any other valuable artifacts including the legendary Baku summoning contract that he possesses. For the rest of this month on top of your other training you will train with the Hebi stealth division until you can easily get into any place and be gone long before they can find you. Now I want you to continue practicing the Futon: Daitoppa until you master it. If you impress me I will teach you the Futon: Atsugai this month.**" The great snake answered.

Naruto had no real chance to respond to what Manda told him before he was being lead away to the stealth division for his first lesson in infiltration and espionage.

**And cut! I know this chapter has been a long time coming but school has been prevalent as has some laziness. I already have some of a different chapter written. Yes I am using some characters and techniques from Rurouni Kenshin but this is no crossover. So tell what you think of this chapter and not just it sucked or it was great but what was great about it or what sucked about it. I need to know these things to get a feel for this writing style. Well next chapter we look at the different divisions of the snake clan and an infiltration mission. By the way has anyone read the new manga? Over powered Uchiha and useless Sakura anyone? Lol I guess I should stop picking on her as soon as she realizes that she can't really catch up to Naruto and Sasuke anymore. **

**1. **I find it hard to believe that anyone can just waltz into another clan's property, By the way is anyone else upset by the fact that everyone but Naruto knows about his family?

**2. **In a flashback in the anime when Jiraiya first starts training with the toads he breaks up a fight between a snake and Gamabunta on Mt. Myobokuzan so what is to keep a toad from getting to Ryuchidou?

**3. **Seijuro Hiko XIV is a title and was "passed" down to Kenshin after mastering the final move but he chose not to take the name. In my fic he did take the name.

**4. **It is the Hebi clone.


	3. More Training

**Previously**

_As Naruto focused his eyes on the real world he noticed Manda waiting for him with another small serpent by his side._

_Making his way over Naruto cleared his mind of his conversation with the Kyubi and greeted both snakes._

_"**Naruto I noticed during your Futon training that you would be more inclined to a specific type of Futon ninjutsu that is based around first inhaling natural air and then releasing it in the form of Shinku (Vacuum) which in it's own rights is more powerful than other Futon ninjutsu. Now that is not to say that it is the most powerful because it is not. In fact it is considered to be the most assassination based techniques for the Futon element. So they are far more quiet and not as destructive unless you form some sort of space vacuums in the atmosphere to give them extra power. However the only clan to ever produce the Shinku variant of Futon are the renowned Shimura Ichizoku of Konohagakure no sato. While much is not told in this day about the clan before the founding of the Shinobi villages the Shimura were known as the Yami no Ansatsu **(Assassins of Darkness) **because unlike the Uchiha or Senju the Shimura stuck to the shadows and perfected their assassination techniques to their highest level."** Manda lectured as Naruto's attention was now fully on him and the story._

_"Why are you telling me this Manda-sama? I am guessing that you want me to some how learn the Shinku Futon style to better compliment my own assassination forms. But what exactly do I need to do in order to learn these techniques Manda-sama? Naruto shot question after question as his brain tried to think up just what he would need to do._

_"**It is quite simple Naruto. In one month's time you will infiltrate the home of one Shimura Danzo in Konoha and take all of the clan scrolls on his Futon techniques and any other valuable artifacts including the legendary Baku summoning contract that he possesses. For the rest of this month on top of your other training you will train with the Hebi stealth division until you can easily get into any place and be gone long before they can find you. Now I want you toCONTINUE practicing the Futon: Daitoppa until you master it. If you impress me I will teach you the Futon: Atsugai this month.**" The great snake answered._

_Naruto had no real chance to respond to what Manda told him before he was being lead away to the stealth division for his first lesson in infiltration and espionage._

**Now:**

**One Month Later**

Outside of a moderate sized home in Konoha a small brown snake slithered to a stop. The home itself was unassuming and many would pass on by and not think anything of it.

This was the home of one Shimura Danzo the **Shinobi no Yami **(Darkness of Shinobi).

Of course as a truely practical man Danzo chose to keep his home much smaller and less elaborate than that of other clans in Konoha.

Who would ever expect someone of Danzo's caliber of ever living in a place like this one?

The brown snake looked up at the small home and opened it's mouth wide open. Anyone who would have seen what happened next would have fainted or ran to call the Anbu.

The snake's mouth opened far larger than it's small frame should have allowed and out of its mouth came a pale hand quickly followed by an arm.

Within a few moments the snake had coughed up one Uzumaki Naruto who was covered in saliva.

'_Well that is one way to travel undetected through a Hidden Village. I wonder if I will ever get use to that.' _The pale boy thought to himself.

'Looking at the small snake Naruto nodded his thanks and the snake slithered into a set of nearby bushes ready in case it had to get Naruto out of any tough spots.

Quickly turning back towards the small compound Naruto formed one hand seal and slowly his body became opaque and then he turned completely invisible to the naked eye. Not only did he visibly disappear however but his scent was also masked.

The jutsu he had just used is one of Iwagakure no sato's most prized behind the Jinton (Dust Release). The Meisaigakure no Jutsu (Hiding with Camouflage Technique).

The technique worked by allowing the user to reflect light around their body with chakra inflections making them effectively invisible. The technique also erased scent and the user's shadow making it a perfect technique for assassination or covert missions. However the usefulness of the technique could be completely negated by a Dojutsu of a high caliber.

Another useful side affect of the Meisaigakure no jutsu was that in the hands of a consummate master one could erase their chakra prescence making them truly invisible. Only one known user in history had that ability and it was the Nidaime Tsuchikage Mu.

The snake clan of course under the direction of Orochimaru had liberated a highly sought after scroll from Iwagakure that detailed the technique's use, creation, and purposes. Of course the snakes archived the entire scroll before giving it to Orochimaru and made it mandatory to learn and master the technique for infiltration and stealth training.

The past month had been more than a little hellish for Naruto. On top of his Kenjutsu training and Futon training he had to practice his walking and how much weight he put into each step so that he could be as silent as possible. Not only for the use of the Meisaigakure but in general.

He also had to learn how to inflect his chakra at certain variations to even perform his current technique.

One could not let it be said that the snakes would have an untrained summoner.

Making his way onto the property slowly Naruto noted the almost spartan yard. Little if any plant life and no signs of children.

The Shimura clan would probably die out with Danzo unless he had some unknown children. Naruto of course would not let the clan be forgotten by claiming all of their Futon jutsu and training scrolls and in a small way the Shimura clan would live on in him.

Getting to the sliding door Naruto first used a minute pulse of chakra to see if there was anyone nearby in the house. By focusing the pulse as well as his emotion sensing ability he could tell that there were dozens of people under the house and by the feel of them they were at least twenty meters down.

That would make his task easier as the scrolls he was searching for were in fact about five meters west of the Elder's study.

As Naruto passed through the home he could only take in the very spartan life style that Dazno seemed to enjoy. The only manner of paintings on the wall was one of a Baku sucking away the dreams of a hapless mortal man.

'_How fitting that Shimura-san would have a picture of his personal summons taking away the dreams of another when his own dream of being Hokage was taken from him.' _Naruto thought as he moved silently down the hall.

It was a well known secret that Shimura Danzo wanted to be Hokage and to some of the higher Shinobi in the village they knew he would do anything to become Hokage.

It was quite amazing how a Hidden Village as vaunted as Konohagakure could have Shinobi with loose tongues once just a little alcohol was in their system. And with the dozens of small snakes hidden around the village that acted as spies for Naruto there weren't many secrets he didn't know or at the least couldn't find out.

Coming to a hidden cache Naruto felt for a small depression on the wall that marked where the valuable scrolls were hidden. A moment of waiting and a _Fuin _script formed on the wall with a small swirl pattern in the middle.

'_So Danzo-san really did steal the Fuinjutsu of my clan. Too bad for him this seal is only on the novice level and any Uzumaki novice could release this seal.' _Naruto thought as he formed the Ram hand seal while two of his fingers started to glow a dark blue with chakra and after touching the seal and going around it in a counter clockwise circle the seal disappeared.

As the seal melted away a small circular hole appeared in the wall and in the hole were dozens of scrolls. Lifting up one of the larger scrolls Naruto found that it was the Baku summoning contract.

In it were the names of at least a dozen Shimura clan members. The next scroll Naruto picked up was a detailed scroll written about the **Mokuton **(Wood Release) Kekkei Genkai by Senju Hashirama himself!

'_How could Danzo-san get his hands on a scroll this valuable? There are dozens of techniques here that made Hashirama so feared as the Shinobi no Kami. No the better question is why does he have such a scroll? The only reason would be if he somehow possessed the ability himself or someone else in his acquaintance did. Either way I think I should liberate these scrolls and place them in the snake archives back in Ryuchidou.' _The snake summoner thought as he quickly sealed that scroll away into an intricate seal marking on his right arm.

The seal was a storage seal with a slight variation that allowed it to only be affected by his chakra and it could store far more than a regular storage seal.

After placing all of the scrolls away Naruto re-sealed the hidden cache. Before he could make his way out of the house however he felt a chakra pulse behind him and with little time to react he ducked under a slash from a tanto.

'_How did this person get past my sensory abilities? Whomever this is must be extremely competent.' _Naruto thought as he took in his opponents form. The man had slightly shaggy black hair and a face plate with the Konoha symbol on the top. His eyes were covered by some small white goggles. He wore an Anbu outfit from the Ne division and his tanto was in his gloved hand.

"I do not know who you are but you shall be detained for Danzo-sama." the mystery man droned.

This man was none other than Aburame Torune.

He had only recently been drafted into Ne and his first mission had been to guard Danzo's home. Thanks to his special venomous Kikaichu he could hide his chakra presence from some of the best sensors in the world and due to the emotional training he had already undergone he held no malice for Naruto to sense or any other emotions for that matter.

While the Aburame had been unable to actually see or smell the intruder his Kikaichu were able to sense a very powerful chakra that was slightly hidden but not hidden enough and following their lead he found a slight disturbance at the scroll trove that Danzo had recently placed many of his personal scrolls.

Naruto on the other hand realized that while he was skilled he would be unable to take on an Anbu level opponent. No he needed a distraction so that he could get back to Ryuchidou.

'_I think I know a way of getting past this guy but I'm going to hate myself later for it.' _With that thought the snake summoner immediately sunk low into his battojutsu stance.

Torune tensed and with a twitch of his muscles lunged towards his opponent.

Naruto for his part was amazed at how such a competent shinobi could telegraph such an attack. Drawing his blade in a perfect arc Naruto deflected the Anbu's strike with enough force to make the Anbu over extend. Before Torune could counter attack a smoke bomb went off.

Thinking that his hidden attacker would use the smoke in an attempt to escape or to attack him Torune quickly used his chakra to make a slight pulse that forced the smoke away from his immediate vicinity.

Yet as the smoke cleared a truly sinister and vile chakra surged forth and the once hidden face of the attacker was now bare for all to see.

Pale skin, long black hair, and the slit hazel eyes of one Orochimaru pinned Torune to his spot.

**-Naruto OST: Orochimaru's Theme-**

"Well, well, it seems that Danzo-san has gotten himself a new pet since I left. I wonder what made you so special that he would pick you to guard his home. Maybe I should dissect you to find out all of your secrets." 'Orochimaru' said with a sinister smirk on his face.

His long tongue shot out of his mouth. "Yes that is what I will do. I will dissect you and send the pieces back to Danzo one by one after I have researched all of your abilities."

His vile chakra started to slowly become visible as a purple aura that screamed insanity, power, and pure evil.

Torune was frozen. While he had a handle on most of his emotions there were just certain things that humans could not get rid of. One of those things was the innate fear that came when facing an apex predator that you could not defeat.

Despite being a powerful Anbu and having exceptional abilities Torune had no delusions that he could face the likes of Orochimaru long enough for help to arrive. He had a feeling that even Danzo would be unable to challenge the rogue Sannin.

Meanwhile Orochimaru's thoughts were running along a different vein.

'_I can see that your fear is working against you. Now I just need you to let that fear paralyze you a bit more before I can escape.' _Naruto thought as he continued to impersonate Orochimaru.

The Henge no jutsu had always come easily to Naruto and he had spent hours learning how to impersonate Orochimaru just for an occasion that he would need an intimidation factor. As Torune let his innate fear get the better of him; Naruto prepared his chakra for a quick Shunshin no jutsu that would get him to Ido, the snake that transported him here.

Torune's body seized up as the vile chakra being emitted from Orochimaru became heavier. (1)

In a sudden motion a kunai slashed past Torune's face forming a long scar on his right cheek.

"I will take this bit of blood for now and come back for the rest of you kukukuku." With that said Naruto flashed away in a brush of wind.

**-Naruto OST: Orochimaru's Theme End-**

'_I was so close to death! Why would someone like Orochimaru infiltrate Danzo-sama's home?' _ Torune thought as his nerves started to come under control.

"Torune-san what is going on?" Danzo's voice wafted down the hall.

A hidden door on the far wall closed behind him.

Dropping to one knee Torune bowed his head.

"Danzo-sama your home was infiltrated by none other than Orochimaru. He stole all of the scrolls in your vault."

Danzo's expression hardened. _Why would Orochimaru break into my home for those scrolls. He already had most of that knowledge to begin with except for the scroll of the Shodiame. Does he suspect that Kinoe survived? _

The possibilities for why the nuke-nin would infiltrate his home were far too many to guess at. _Although Torune is no where near Orochimaru's level he should have at least been able to hold him off until I arrived._

"Why were you unable to hold off the Sannin Torune-san? It is well within your capabilities to have at least held him here for five minutes until I had arrived to assist you." Danzo's tone left no room for denial.

"Gomen Danzo-sama I let my fear of his power cloud my judgement. His chakra was unlike anything I have ever dealt with Danzo-sama." Torune's eyes never left the floor. His hands trembled with fear from his near encounter with death.

Danzo's eyes never left his servant's mop of black hair.

"You need more training Torune to better control your emotions. Go back to headquarters I will be down shortly." Danzo's tone left no room for argument.

Torune left the room with a quiet whisp of leaves.

Danzo stared hard one last time at his hidden cache before heading back towards his secret base.

_Security will need to be increased in case the Sannin decides to return_. The plunk of Danzo's cane echoed in the darkness.

_**Ryuchidou One week Later**_

_'__**Futon: Shinkuha **_(Wind Release: Vacuum Wave)' Naruto subvocalised as he inhaled a deep breath of wind. The air now circulating in his mouth was sharpened by his growing control over Futon chakra.

Shaping the wind into the form of thin line Naruto then expelled it from his mouth while doing a slight spin.

The spinning motion of his body spread the wind out over a great surface area allowing the wind to hit more targets. From his mouth the wind then took on the form of an invisible blade of wind that carved and arced through the air looking for a victim to destroy.

Said victim was a group of large boulders that were each sliced almost cleanly in half.

Almost was not good enough however. This particular jutsu was an assassination jutsu that when done properly could kill a target from more than a hundred meters away without the shinobi having to give away his position by using the wind itself to kill the target.

Not many people expected to be decapitated by a small brush of wind.

"Do it again Naruto-kun. Your control is almost perfect now and your use of Futon chakra is astounding." Hiko told his young student.

Having returned from his month long trip to finding a few hidden artifacts that he had sealed away before his death he helped Naruto work on refining his futon technique. Said items were now hidden away in Ryuchidou until it was time for Naruto to gain them when he truly mastered the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu.

"Hai sensei. I'm surprised that you know quite a bit about elemental manipulation since I have not seen you use any yet Hiko-sensei." Naruto inquisitive mind had been working a lot to figure out just what type of shinobi had Hiko been.

"Sharp as ever my young student. I do know quite a bit of elemental manipulation, however, whoever said I was a shinobi? I was originally trained as a samurai before becoming a ronin and after a while I took up shinobi training although I chose not to partake in the missions that shinobi of my time did." Hiko answered remembering the times of great war that had soaked the land in the blood of countless men, women, and children.

"I guess that does explain the Hiten being more reminiscent of some of the samurai forms I have heard of from Tetsu no Kuni. What was it like being a samurai Hiko-sensei?" The question while harmless in origin had far more deeper scars for Hiko.

His face scrunched up slightly as a small frown marred his face.

-_**Naruto OST Man of the World**_-

"You must understand Naruto that during my time war was a constant. It was kill or be killed even if you desired only peace. I was a different man back then. I was so use to killing people that whenever I left a battlefield it was bathed in blood and body parts. They called me the Hitokiri Battousai. No one was safe whenever I was in battle. Naruto, being a samurai means one should always look for a way to find peace and to fight for that peace. We do not seek peace for ourselves but for those who can't defend themselves. My own sensei taught me that before his death." As Hiko told his story small tears formed in his eyes.

All the death he had caused even if he was but a clone still affected him til this day. The mountains of body parts and streams of blood played around in his mind.

The children that were forced onto the battlefield only to be cut down by men three times to four times their age and experience.

"Gomen Hiko-sensei I did not mean to bring up bad memories for you. I do not think that I could have survived back in your time." Naruto felt his chest clutch at the thought of making his sensei sad.

While he maybe angry at times with his master at not being able to best him in Kenjutsu he would not wish to ever actually hurt the man who trained him in the way of the sword.

Other than the snakes and Hinata no one else other than Hiko had ever shown any concern for his well being or his training.

"It's okay Naruto I want you to know what it is the world can go back to if no one works for peace. While away I ran into some of the samurai from Tetsu no Kuni and I must say that the ideals of the samurai has been lost. Well not lost but definitely misguided. They stay to themselves rather than teach others that peace is the way. The shinobi of course care not for peace as a whole. There are individual shinobi that want nothing more than peace but as a system it could just never work. Shinobi are beings of war whether they want to admit that or not. The only way peace would ever be achieved would be if everyone no matter their proffession could feel but a little compassion to their fellow man." Hiko's voice had taken on a forlorn look as if he had remembered another piece of his past.

Just hearing his sensei speak about peace and the emotion that filled Hiko's voice caused the young red head to think back on his life and Konoha as a whole.

Many children there were like normal children and never knew war or what it was like to suffer but orphans like Naruto or even shinobi clan children like Hinata saw their fair share of pain and misery in the world.

In fact Hinata had almost been kidnapped just a short time ago by a Kumogakure entourage under the false banner of peace. Luckily Naruto and the snakes had been close by to slow down the Jounin that kidnapped her until her father appeared.

That moment and knowing what would have been the final outcome if the kidnap attempt had not failed caused Naruto to slightly shiver.

No one deserved to suffer that especially not his gentle Hinata.

"Sensei I want to bring this peace that you speak of. I know that I am only seven almost eight years old but peace is something that we all need. You know what my life was like and I feel that if true peace existed then no one would have to suffer as I did. You say that the shinobi can't have true peace then teach me sensei how to be strong so that I can forge a way for there to be peace." Naruto's eyes had taken on a strong look of resolve as he spoke.

_I have never seen a stronger resolve in anyone. Nor have I ever met a stronger man than you Naruto. _Hiko thought as a bright chakra started to build around Naruto.

Plants of all kinds started growing in the wake of this chakra and the natural energy around Ryuchidou increased in power.

"Well Naruto-kun this one (1) will train you to be as strong as possible so that you can protect those precious to you and bring peace for those who can't protect themselves." the smile etched on Hiko's face took away some of the anxiety usually present there.

For a brief moment a pair of lavender eyes with no pupils flashed through Naruto's mind attached to a pretty face that wore a smile of happiness.

_Hinata deserves peace in this world. I will do anything to make sure she is never sad or hurt again. _For a brief moment a shadow appeared behind Naruto.

It was a bright gold and it possessed six arms and all three pairs of its eyes were a deep rippling pattern.

The image went away a second later but Hiko had seen it in its glory.

_You truly are going to be a powerful shinobi Naruto-kun. You will change this world, I just know it. _Hiko looked on as a dark blue three meter snake slowly slithered up his student's body.

-_**End Naruto OST Man of the World**_-

This snake had recently hatched from Manda's clutch and had chosen to be Naruto's familiar.

Aoda or something like that was his name.

At only a month old the snake was very loyal and already easier to deal with than his father in certain cases.

"_**Naruto-sama, my father says that it is almost time for your next lesson in your elemental, flexibility, and speed training. He wants you to meet him at the top of the mountain in a few minutes.**_" Aoda spoke with respect. Each word ending in a slight hiss.

The young snake was so attached to Naruto because Naruto fed his naturally powerful chakra into Aoda's growing egg along with that of his few siblings and most of that chakra went to Aoda causing the snake to absorb most of the potent energy and grow at an exponential rate.

In fact by the time he was in his prime Aoda would be at least three times the size of his father!

"I will head there shortly Aoda-san. Would you care for a hawk egg? I happen to have a few left over from my last forage into the hawk clan's territory." Naruto reached into his shinobi pouch and pulled out a small scroll.

Unrolling the scroll and with a small poof of smoke two eggs appeared in his palm.

Aoda in a blur snatched one of the eggs in his coils and slowly sunk to the ground to enjoy his meal.

"I will give this last one to Aido. He has been a bit down lately and I think this will make him feel better." With that the second egg disappeared in a small burst of smoke.

"When you return we shall start the next phase of your Hiten training. Your drawing speed is at a good enough level we now have to get up your reaction and movement speed to appropriate levels for the hypersonic speed that Hiten calls for." Hiko's voice echoed off the small clearing.

"Hai sensei! I will inform Manda-sama so he knows to at least let me survive the training for the day."

Who knew that the massive serpent could be such a slave driver?

And such a perfectionist.

With a nod Hiko turned on his heel and left for the waterfall.

Taking on last look at his sensei and distant relative Naruto formed a half ram seal and mustered his chakra allowing it to vitalize his body in a short burst.

With a brush of wind he disappeared in a Shunshin no jutsu.

His skill with this particular technique was quite high due to the amount of practice he had with it.

There was no point in knowing thousands of jutsu if you were too slow to hit your opponent.

The snakes had drilled that lesson into his head. Even a snake as large as Manda was far faster than him at his orignal speed.

Apparently speed in the shinobi world broke down a bit differently than it did for a civilian.

Speed in combat was not about who could run the fastest in a straight line.

Speed was measured by how fast one could react to a physical situation, how fast one could move from one space to another with obstacles blocking their path and how quickly one could form hand seals for any particular jutsu.

What made the likes of the Yondaime Hokage and Sandaime and Yondaime Raikage's was that their fighting styles relied on little to no handseals and in the case of the latter two a powerful supplementary Raiton jutsu that pushed their neural synapsis to the limit increasing their reaction time by a factor of 100.

That in combination with the Shunshin no jutsu, which was a jutsu that vitalized the body with chakra before allowing one to cross a specific distance based on the amount of chakra they used, allowed the two Raikage to be faster than most of their competition. As for the Yondaime Hokage his monstrous speed was a combination of his own natural speed and the Hiraishin no Jutsu created by the Tobirama Senju.

Bringing his mind back to the present Naruto made his way to the top of the moutain. Large trees littered the side of the mountain in splotches.

Looking at the ground Naruto noted that there were no slither marks from the large snake.

_'Something isn't right here. Manda is the largest snake in this realm yet there are no markings to indicate that he was even here.' _Naruto's mind took in every minute detail of the mountain.

Taking small steps so as to not disturb the area Naruto felt a build up of chakra. Normally a build up would mean someone was either preparing to cast a jutsu or they were hiding their chakra signature for an ambush attack. However the chakra he felt was quite small and unless the being who was building up that chakra had extremely precise chakra control then they were not performing a jutsu.

_**Naruto OST Emergence of Talent**_

Before Naruto could think anymore on the strangeness of his situation his senses went off allowing him to dodge a strike aiimed at his head.

Behind him a shinobi dressed completely in black with a purple trimming outlining the pants wielded a katana.

_'How could this shinobi get to Ryuchido?' _That was all Naruto could think about as he set his body into the opening battojutsu stance of Hiten Mitsurugi.

His opponent blurred towards him at a blinding speed with no banter. Without hesitation Naruto drew his blade with unmatched speed and countered the slash aimed at his midsection with nary a flick of his wrist. The two shinobi continued going back and forth with Naruto using his greater speed to off balance his opponent.

Displacing in a shift of wind Naruto appeared behind his opponent and aimed to decapitate him in a single blow but the man shifted his feet and pivoted on the ball of his feet allowing him to use his weight to counter Naruto's strike causing the young shinobi to fall slightly forward and loosen his hold on his katana. The assasin quickly capatilized on his advantage by kicking Naruto in the chest and knocking his blade from his hand.

Falling back, Naruto, slipped into a taijutsu stance. His legs were spread evenly apart with his weight balanced perfectly on each foot. His arms were held aloft with a bend in both arms allowing for maneuvirability. The assassin rushed forward again and started slashing with precise strikes aimed for vital areas.

Naruto slipped around the blade with each swing swaying from one side to the next allowing his muscles to relax and slip into the heavily practiced motions of Tai Chi. Naruto caught the shinobi's hand and using the force of his own body knocked the assassin back using his weight to shift the shinobi back.

Once the assailant fell back Naruto blurred around the man leaving behind a blurry image that faded in and out of existence.

With a slight shift of his hand a shuriken fell into his fingers. Throwing it Naruto weaved through three hand seals in a split second causing the single shuriken to multiply into a thousand in an instant. With another shift of his hands a blast of Futon chakra caused the thousands of shuriken to intensify in speed.

His constant use of the _Shunshin no Jutsu _increased the surface area of the shuriken technique forming an almost impentrable wall of deadly spinning blades.

His opponent, unable to dodge the thousands of blades, formed a small barrier of earth using the _Doton: Doryuheki_. The thousands of shuriken embedded almost fifty centimeters into the half meter thick wall causing it to crumble the moment the shuriken had stopped.

Before the assassin could get his bearings back Naruto was upon him and with a single stroke of his reaquired katana he cut the head from his opponents body.

Yet even as he started to breath slightly easier the body broke down into a brown goop.

_**Naruto OST Emergence of Talent End**_

'_This is earth. A Doton: Kage Bushin no Jutsu!' _Before Naruto could fully get his guard back up a kunai knife was held at his throat.

"You have failed this test Uzumaki Naruto." The man's voice was little more than a rasp.

Before Naruto could reply he felt a wave of chakra wash through the entire clearing and the man behind him wafted away into a breeze.

A massive shadow fell over Naruto signalling the presence of Manda.

"Naruto you failed your first challenge against the most subtle of all shinobi techniques, Genjutsu. You have been in a Genjutsu since you first stepped up this mountain." The collasal snake boomed down at his apprentice.

Naruto contemplated all of the details that he noted were off since he had come up the mountain. The lack of snake tracks, the small almost inperceptible inflections of chakra that had bothered him and finally the lack of scent from Manda.

"I have failed you Manda-sama. I noticed a few things off but I paid them no heed and was stuck in the heat of the moment of the fight. I must train harder to truly learn what it is to be a competent shinobi. Naruto said as he looked up towards the collosal serpent.

For a moment Manda said nothing while his tongue flicked in and out tasting the air around him.

"_**Do you know when you truly failed this test Naruto**_?" The great snake questioned.

He could tell by the inquisitive look on his apprentice's face that the boy had an idea of when it all really started.

Taking a moment to look back over every event of the past half hour Naruto thought back to his training with Hiko on Futon chakra and Aoda delivering the mess..

With a slight widening of his eyes Naruto replayed his entire conversation with Aoda over in his head.

"I failed the moment that I listened to Aoda about the specific type of training you wanted me to do today Manda-sama."

'_I knew he would know. It really is scary just how intelligent this boy is sometimes.' _Manda thought to himself while staring at the hebi summoner in training.

"_**You are correct Naruto. Most shinobi think that true illusions are formed with chakra but this is a lie. A true illusion is one that is fostered by misinformation. If your opponent expects you to be an idiot when you are a genius he has already fallen into the greatest illusion you could ever cast. Remeber that Naruto the greatest illusions one can cast are those created by false information.**_" The great serpent spoke and Naruto could see his point.

In fact Naruto himself was in the process of creating such an illusion for the entirity of Konoha to believe.

His clone was constantly failing at simple instructions at the Academy and was only helped along by the almost blatant neglect of the instructors. His grades were at the bottom of the class consecutively and many saw him as the worst shinobi prospect to ever enter the Academy.

Only Hinata knew different.

"So Manda-sama I take it since you started me on the subject of genjutsu that will be our focus for this lesson?" Naruto queried ready to learn everything he could about the subtle art.

"_**You are correct Naruto I will teach you how to recognise the signs of genjutsu and if you progress at a good rate I will teach you a lower ranked genjutsu**_." With that the pair spent the rest of the day going over the finer points of genjutsu.

A few hours later Naruto was panting from exertion with sweat pouring from his brow heavily.

Aido was currently wrapped around his shoulders.

"_**Naruto-sama your things are ready for you to return to Konoha tonight**_. _**I shall use the Gyaku Kuchiyose no Jutsu when you are ready to return.**_" The white snake said as Naruto sealed away his training back pack.

"Thank you Aido-san. I shall return in a few weeks to continue my training. Its time I helped Hinata out a bit more with her own training. I will bring you back a gift when I return Aido-san, maybe I can get you another hawk egg." With that said a puff of smoke surrounded the red head and when it cleared he was gone.

**A few days later- Konoha Hidden Training Area**

In a large forested area training dummies hang from branches at odd angles and were hidden behind certain bushes and vegetation.

The tree's in the area were easily five to six meters in height with thick leaves and even thicker bark covering them.

Ten meters to the immediate left of the forest was a river the was fed by a large waterfall. The crashing water made it a perfect area for any shinobi to work on gaining focus and concentration.

With no warning senbon needles rained down on the entire area hitting vital spots marked off on each of the dummies hanging on tree branches.

Those hidden by vegetation on the ground were soon covered in the sharp needles as well with pinpoint accuracy.

"Well done Hinata-chan. Your aim is perfect and all of your targets are disabled but alive." Naruto's body wafted into existence next to the Hyuga clan Heiress.

Naruto knew Hinata disliked harming others and there was no weakness in that but in a fight she would have to be able to at least disable her opponents so that she and her team could complete missions. For that reason Naruto taught her about the pressure points in the human body.

With her Byakugan she could see them far better than he ever could along with their chakra circulatory system giving her a vast edge over many opponents. Being able to see the points allowed her to hit with pinpoint accuracy every time.

A slight red tint touched Hinata's cheeks as her crush complimented her.

"It's thanks to you Naruto-kun that I can do any of this. So you get the credit for my abilities." She reflected.

"That is nonsense Hinata you trained hard to be able to do what you can do. I can only show you a path to follow it has always been your determination to follow through with that path." Naruto smiled at her missing her deeper blush.

Before anything else could transpire Naruto wanted to increase her training regiment.

"Hinata-chan while I was away I learned how to do a new Fuinjutsu that when done properly regulates the amount of chakra a person has access to and causes that chakra to act as extra weight for that person to carry around going by a factor of ten for each level the seal is on. So at the most basic level it would increase the weight around you ten times which when trained with properly will not only aid your strength but also your speed immensely. I already have the seal on myself and just want to ask you for your permission to use the seal on you? Naruto bowed his head as he asked.

When he looked back up Hinata saw a seal formula wrapping itself around his head and all over his body.

It formed a wavy pattern with a spiral seal located on his head and one on his chest.

With her Byakugan she could see that his immense chakra was only at about fifteen percent of his normal maximum.

Naruto wanted Hinata to have every advantage that she could when they became shinobi so that she could live for a long time.

Hinata in the meantime had to think about the offer. On one hand she would be restricted in the amount of chakra she could use at any given time and she unlike Naruto did not have a massive amount of chakra.

It always boggled her mind that Naruto had more chakra then anyone she had ever met in the village and that included the likes of the Sandiame Hokage.

Thinking over the situation for a few more minutes she agreed to the getting the seal.

"Well Hinata-chan before I can give you the seal I'm going to need you to sort of..s-strip." The blush that stained Naruto's cheeks was eclisped only by Hinata's blush.

Deciding to go into more details so she wouldn't think him a pervert Naruto explained that the seal had to be applied to her bare skin right above her heart.

So with little preamble she took off her kimono top revealing her pale skin. Naruto for a moment could only stare at her and think of just how beautiful she would one day be.

Coming back to the present Naruto wove through four handseals and placed them on the ground near Hinata.

Fuinjutsu script spread out from his hands making a wave like pattern around the young Hyuga before the wrapped onto her body in flowing lines.

Naruto placed his right hand that was glowing with golden chakra over her heart and in fine fuinjutsu script a spiral pattern appeared on her skin surrounded by the script.

The markings continued on their way over her entire body slowly blocking her chakra and controlling the output of her chakra.

After ten minutes Hinata slowly stood and wobbled to her feet. The seal was more difficult to get use to then she first thought.

Already she could feel the weight of her own chakra pressing down on her causing her some discomfort but not enough to stop her.

The fuin markings disappeared into her skin as if was never there with the exception of a tiny spiral marking above her naval.

"Well Hinata-chan now that you have the seal I'm going to help you learn something new. The Hyuga clan specializes in taijutsu so I thought that to help compliment that specialization I would teach you kenjutsu and some ninjutsu that will help you overcome the weakness to long range opponents that most Hyuga shinobi have." Naruto said as he slightly waved his arm over a small tatto on his upper right arm.

In a small poof of smoke a kodachi appeared.

"Naruto-kun I don't think I can use a sword. I really don't want to hurt anyone." Hinata knew that she was always more on the meek side and only wanted to protect her family.

"Hinata-chan, I only want to help you be able to protect yourself better. I will only be teaching you the basics and with a kodachi you can aim more precise strikes that will only hinder or incapcitate an opponent rather than kill. I will also teach you a little bit of battojutsu but not my personal kenjutsu (2)." Naruto watched Hinata's face flicker through multiple emotions.

There was a definite happiness as her pale lavender eyes lit up for a brief moment and then she looked at the blade in Naruto's hand.

The blade itself was roughly 60cm and made with a very durable chakra metal. The blade itself was quite thin which would allow the user to hit small vital spots on a target. Which would allow them to control how much damage they did to an opponent.

Grasping the blade Hinata could feel how well balanced it was. It fit perfectly into her smaller hands with a few centimeters of added reach just in case an opponent was able to get into her guard.

The blade was very sharp as when she ran a small leaf above it the leaf instantly split in half.

Bringing forth another kodachi Naruto settled into an opening battojutsu stance.

"Now Hinata-chan I'm going to show you the very basics so that you can get a feel for what I'm going to be teaching you." Naruto said as he bent his knees a bit more putting more pressure on the balls of his feet.

Hinata's Byakugan came to life as her pupils dilated and the veins around her eyes bulged.

As soon as she got into a similar stance Naruto was already in front of her with his kodachi near her collar bone.

'I could barely make out his speed! Is this really Naruto-kun?' Hinata thought as Naruto slowly backed away from her.

"Concentrate Hinata-chan. One day if you train hard enough you may just be as fast as me but for now you have something that I don't have." Naruto said as he watched Hinata back up a step.

-_**Naruto OST Oh Student and Teacher**_-

"But you are far stronger than me Naruto-kun. You are faster and smarter than I am." She fidgeted while looking down at the ground. Her confidence had never been the best and her family's attempt to make her into a stronger heiress of the clan.

"No Hinata-chan you are not as strong as me or as smart as me." Naruto said and Hinata slumped further down with tears ready to spill from her eyes.

'So even Naruto-kun doesn't believe in me.' Hinata thought.

"You are stronger and smarter than I could ever be Hinata-chan." Naruto said with no hesitation.

Hinata's head snapped up instantly almost making Naruto think he had heard a slight crack in her neck.

"But h..how?" Before she could even finish stuttering her question Naruto had already begun to answer her.

"Hinata-chan, you are stronger than me because you have the strength to defy your family and make your own way in the world without them holding you back in their old traditions. You are smarter than me because you always know when to ask for help whereas I, through my own pride, would not readily ask for help. Hinata-chan you are a far greater person than I can ever be and let no one tell you otherwise." Naruto told her sincerely.

She could see in his eyes that he had meant every word he had said.

For the next few minutes all she could do was think over everything he had said and while she could see some of his points she knew she could not truly be stronger than him.

"Thank you Naruto-kun for your words. Your faith in me makes me want to be stronger than I am." Hinata replied with a slight blush.

-_**Naruto OST Oh Student and Teacher End**_-

With that both children got into the battojutsu opening stance and started the training session.

For hours Naruto would demonstrate the exact movement needed for maximum drawing speed as he had once been shown and then he would show her how to apply that to a smaller blade.

The kodachi was perfect for Hinata as its shorter size allowed her to wield the weapon with greater control than if she had started with a larger sword. As they really started sparring Hinata began adding elements of the Jyuken form into her movements. Her feet were perfectly set apart and balanced granting her more drawing power and each time she would draw the blade she would add just a small spin and gave her more momentum.

Her momentum for a brief moment surprised Naruto and caused him to loosen his hold on his kodachi and with another precise swing of her blade he was disarmed and had the smallest of cuts on his hand.

Looking at the cut Naruto could only smile in pride as Hinata managed to not only disarm him but cause him a small injury.

A small amount of smoke emanated from the the cut and it sealed shut a moment later. Naruto had been practicing Kenjutsu for nearly two years now and while no where near a master of Hiten Mistsurugi he was at the very least competent.

To be able to disarm him and then injure him meant that Hinata herself had immense skill.

He would admit that although she had disarmed him and injured him he would still be counted as the more skilled in technique. After all she had caught him off guard with her flexibility and ingenuity by combining the kodachi with her Jyuken like rotation that allowed a normal Hyuga to turn their defense into a powerful offense.

"Well Hinata you certainly are better at this than me when I first started learning Kenjutsu.I can already see that you well develop your own style. Just keep up your training Hinata-chan and no one will ever be able to stop you." The smile that split Naruto's face could have lit up the entire sky and for Hinata it lit up much more.

"Thank you again Naruto-kun. Would you still like me to teach you the Buaguazhong technique? That was all I really used." Hinata's lightly pink tinged cheeks also broke into a smile.

"Of course HInata-chan. I can learn just as much from you as you can from me. And the reflexes and flexibility of your clan are quite the envy for many Taijutsu masters in the world. " Naruto replied still grinning.

While Hinata could not teach Naruto the Jyuken itself since he didn't have the Byakugan nor could she break even the highest laws of her clan by teaching an outsider how to do their immensly powerful taijutsu, she could teach him the original taijutsu form that Jyuken eventually evolved from.

The highly dynamic and evasive Baguazhong. Not many members of the clan even knew about the origins of the Jyuken but the main branch held many ancient scrolls in their library about thousands of fighting forms from when they had still been a wandering clan.

Putting her thoughts on hold she stepped into the opening Baguazhong stance that was basically the opening stance for the Jyuken.

Naruto quickly followed her example and set his arms apart while bending his legs and settling into the stance.

Hinata slowly went through the motions for the first few stances of the technique letting Naruto watch how each of her movements used the minimum amount of energy and maximized her attacks.

Her body flowed from one move to the next with no effort as she used her own natural flexibility to expend less energy.

Beside her Naruto started working through the forms with her and as she added her own flexibility to the mix Naruto added the flexibility gained from training in Tai Chi and with the snakes.

While his own flexibility was slightly lower than Hinata's he was still able to progress through the forms.

The forms started to become more dynamic and spent more energy as they both whirled around staying in a tight circle that represented the Eight Trigrams philosophy of the Jyuken.

For the next hour Hinata would constantly go through the same forms with Naruto until there were no mistakes in his foot work and that he wasted no energy in his movements.

As for Naruto he could start to feel just a small amount of fatigue affect him. If his chakra had been at a hundred percent he could easily go for another few hours with no complaint but his own _**Uzumaki Hijutsu: Chakura no Fuin** _ was at a far higher level than Hinata's so he was only working with a total of ten percent of his total chakra capacity while the other ninety percent was being held back and forcing extra tension on his musculature.

The tension would have the effect of adding extra gravity to his body when in reality it was only his own chakra working against him and that would increase not only his speed exponentially but also his strength, stamina, and endurance.

Another added effect of the seal was that his chakra reserves were being increased even more than normal since his body had to compensate for the lack of a sufficient amount of chakra.

Naruto slowly came to a stop and panted as sweat poured from his brow in heavy amounts.

Hinata followed suit a moment later with a slight flush ton her skin. "You did great on your first try Naruto-kun. I think, despite what you said earlier, are a true prodigy."

Naruto slightly looked over at her but could not think of a proper retort. "Well Hinata-chan I think we are done for today would you like to have dinner with me? Maybe ramen?" He smiled as Hinata looked at him.

"Sure Naruto-kun let's get ramen." She returned his smile.

The two went to the waterfall and washed the dirt and grime from the days training away before putting on fresh clothes that they had bought for just that purpose.

Once they were done Naruto touched Hinata's shoulder before making a half ram seal and using the Shunshin no jutsu to bring them further into the village.

As soon as the two stepped into the crowds on the streets Hinata could see the instant change in the adults.

They openly glared at Naruto with a vitriol hatred.

Looking to Naruto she could only see a smile on his face.

_He masks his pain with a smile. Why would the villagers be this way towards him. _Hinata thought.

As for Naruto he could sense each and every emotion that the villager's were projecting to him. Instead of showing just how much it affected him he plastered on his smile.

As they made their way through the village towards Ichiraku's Ramen stand they did not realize that they were being watched.

**Hokage Tower Same Time**

Sitting at his desk, Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage watched the young Kyubi Jinchurriki through his crystal ball.

_I wish that more people could be like young Hinata and see Naruto as more than a monster. He is the greatest hero that Konoha has ever had. _Sarutobi thought to himself as he watched the two young children enjoy a nice mean of ramen.

The two children laughed with old man Ichiraku and Ayame. Yet as they did so Sarutobi could see that the two children were on guard and ready to react at a moments notice to an attack.

It was in the simple ways that either of the two would briefly glance around or stop for minute seconds to assess each movement that those around them made.

Sarutobi had noted that there was a change in both children.

No ordinary children would be able to be as still or as composed as both of these children were. Even for children with shinobi training these two were different.

Granted Naruto couldn't have that formal training as he had no clan to guide him and even though Hiashi was grateful to the boy(3) there was no way that he would train Naruto in his clans techniques.

"Inu-san report. How are the border patrols going." Sarutobi said to no one as the room looked empty save himself.

In an instant a form materialized two meters in front of his desk. The figure wore the required armor for an Anbu with a dog shaped mask. The silver hair that covered the mans head stood straight up in spikes.

"Hokage-sama there have been more and more skirmishes on the border of Hi no Kuni and Mizu no Kuni. There have been dozens of Kirigakure Shinobi entering our borders and attacking our shinobi with impunity. I don't know what Kirigakure no sato is up to but I don't think it is any good Hokage-sama." The Inu masked Anbu reported as he bowed before his leader.

Taking a moment to go everything he had just been informed of Hiruzen could only come to one solution.

"Kakashi-san I think it may be a sign of the troubles ahead. I want team Ro to pull double shifts on the borders. Get every available Anbu agent to patrol the every border we have. If Kirigakure is starting an attack on us it won't be long before the likes of Iwagakure no sato or even Kumogakure no sato start their own attacks. I will inform the shinobi council of these dealings and see about implementing safe guards in case we are attacked here at the village." Sarutobi stated as he thought of all the trouble ahead.

"Hai Hokage-sama. Do you really think that it will come to war again? The last war ended only eight years ago, surely the other villages must still be recovering as we are." The now named Kakashi stated.

He had been a Jounin during the last war due to his rapid rise in rank and his great skill. Even before he had been given the Sharingan he had been touted as a genius and when one looked at his record they would have to agree.

"I can't say Kakashi-san but we must be ready for the worst. We don't have as many allies as we used to with the Uzumaki clan now scattered ton the winds and Sunagakure no sato is still an uneasy alliance. I will make sure that all our shinobi are prepared for the trials ahead and see if there is some way to mitigate the chances of a war but knowing certain elements in the village things will only escalate." Sarutobi sighed feeling his age catching up to him.

Nodding his head Kakashi blurred away in a swirl of leaves to update his squad on their new mission parameters.

_I really hope that it won't come to war. These children need time to actually be children._ Sarutobi thought as he looked into his crystal ball again to see Hinata and Naruto laughing about something.

**Hidden Location Konohagakure no sato A week later**

Deep underground below the outskirts of Konoha only 500 meters from where the Uzumaki clan temple use to be a laboratory had been set up.

In glass jars lining the wall were body parts. Some were human but others included a preserved falcon body as well as an old shed white snake skin.

Walking in Naruto carried the body of a bandit that had tried to rob him.

The man was unconscious as Naruto laid him upon a table.

After placing a restraining seal on the man Naruto went over to the wall and grabbed two syringes. One was to take a blood sample while the other one would take a chakra sample for Naruto to study at a later date.

Once that was done Naruto retrieved a scroll on human anatomy and medical ninjutsu. After studying the scroll for a few moments Naruto walked back to his prisoner that was just starting to wake.

"Where am I? What's going on? You gaki what are you doing to me?" The bandit shot question after question at Naruto but instead of answering Naruto form three handseal before concentrating his chakra which caused his hands to glow a bright green.

"Your a shinobi? I'm sorry for attacking you but I needed the money for my family!" The bandit lied.

Naruto could tell the man was lying because his heart rate had increased in tempo and his eyes shifted for the briefest of moments.

"You are a terrible liar bandit-san but no matter. I have a use for you and don't worry you won't feel any pain." Naruto stated with a cold indifference.

With that said Naruto laid his glowing hands over the bandit's torso before moving them to his head and stomach. He could feel the movement of the man's chakra through his vital organs and chakra network.

Naruto set to work memorizing each path that the chakra would flow and how it would flow.

He noted the intensity or the lack of intensity in the bandits chakra and any other differences in the mans body.

The bandit could only look on as the young shinobi worked on him and true to his word there was no pain but he knew that shinobi were generally liars anyway and he had no idea what the child would do with him once he was done.

For the next few hours Naruto worked in silence. He would let the man go but he would have to erase his mind just in case the bandit ever recognized him again and tried to turn him into the Hokage for experimentation.

Once he was done Naruto knocked the bandit out again and then placing a glowing hand on the man's head again watched a spiral seal that wentn counter clock wise appear on the man's head.

The mark quickly faded away and Naruto set about releasing the man before he woke back up. He had what he needed from the man.

He had only needed to see what the chakra network of an average himan was like and then he would compare it to that of a shinobi.

Once the man was released from the sdealing restraints Naruto summoned a medium sized brown snake to take the man away.

Once the snake slithered away with the man safely tucked away in it's stomach dimension Naruto set about copying his data to be sent to a few of his other hiding places.

He had learned to never keep all of his eggs so to speak in one basket.

Once all of his research was done for the day Naruto left his hideout to do some more training. Once he found a good clearing for his training he summoned five Kage Bushin to train with.

Two clones took a battojutsu stance for the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu while one of the others took the stance of his newly formulated taijutsu style that had no name and the other two clones flipped back away to act as support for the other three.

With little warning the two clones using kenjutsu blurred forward and started to attack him using their extreme speed and battojutsu strikes to off balance him and keep him on the defensive.

One of his clones thrust its sword forward in an attempt to skewer him while the other clone jumped in the air and screamed "Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu: Ryutsuisen!" Coming down the clone aimed a double hand sword strike for the originals body.

Naruto simply weaved around the first clone an subvocalised, "Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu: Ryukansen" which allowed him to sidestep his clones thrust and then swinging with battojutsu adding centrifigal force to his swing and cut at the clones back making it disappear in a puff of smoke. The second clone descended on Naruto and before he could counter its attack a blade of wind nearly cut off his arm.

Quickly backing away with the use of the Shunshin no jutsu he saw the other three clones still standing to the back although his taijutsu clone melted away into the wind before reappearing beside him and striking out with a palm strike at his torso.

In an impressive feat of flexibility Naruto was able to bend completely backwards to avoid the hit and then he responded with a foot to the clones face.

The clone reacted in a split second and dodged the kick before replying with a a two point finger strike aiming for a pressure point on Naruto's shoulder.

Naruto dodged and tried to attack the clone but another blade of wind got into his way forcing him to dodge with a well placed shunshin to the other side of the field right behind his other two clones using Ninjutsu.

With a swift strike both clones were dispelled by decapitation. However as he re-sheathed his blade his other two clones attacked again.

When Naruto tried to attack his kenjutsu clone the taijutsu clone would interrupt every move by weaving through his precise strikes with minimum effort and flexibility.

Yet the clone knew that it was at an impasse as it couldn't attack while on the defense and so long as the original Naruto was wielding a blade it would stay on the defense.

It was by luck that the original Naruto had wanted to only train in his kenjutsu for this training session so that gave the clones the advantage as they could use whatever means they wanted so long as they used those means for a particular amount of time to gain experience for their original.

In his distraction the clone didn't see Naruto dispatch the Kenjutsu clone with another battojutsu strike.

Within another moment the final clone was destroyed and each of their memories and experiences went back to the original.

_I now see some of the weaknesses to my taijutsu with the lack of reach against an opponent with a katana but what can I do to fix that? _Naruto did not have too much time to wander as his snake clone appeared before him with a distraught look on his face.

"Boss their is trouble!" The clone yelled.

"What is it? What could have you here instead of at the Academy where you are supposed to be?" Naruto asked with a good bit of dread welling up inside of him.

"Kirigakure no sato has declared war on Konoha." The clone replied with Naruto now realizing the true enormity of the situation.

"No." was the only thing Naruto could say as the wind started to howl.

**And cut. I know it has been over a year now since my last update but life has hit me and I can only do so much working two to three jobs at a time. The next chapter is being worked on but I can't say when it will be released. Now I have been thinking of aging up my characters by two or three years for the war but I haven't yet decided. I apologize for my grammar and spelling but I really wanted to get this chapter out so everyone would stop thinking I had abandoned my stories. Anyway until the next time.**

**1.****Kenshin speaks using the humble pronoun.**

** is unable to pass on Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu to anyone as of yet because he is no master.**


End file.
